Walnut Buttermilk Lemon Cake

Walnut Buttermilk Lemon Cake

Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 125.

Recently, the New York Times published a story about Maida Heatter's East 62nd Lemon Cake. I tried another lemon pound cake recipe today that is equally good. This one is sprinkled with chopped walnuts and has a strong lemon flavor.

You will need about 5 or 6 lemons for the recipe (for the cake and the glaze). Three of the lemons will be zested. As the cake gets done, your house will smell like a bakery!

Also note that cake flour is called for instead of all-purpose.

This is a very easy recipe to make and quite delicious. Of course we had to try it immediately but we are going to try and freeze some of it for a get-together next week. Even though a glaze is involved, I think it should be fine since it is absorbed into the cake.

Cake

2 cups walnuts, chopped into medium-sized pieces

Finely grated rind of 2 or 3 large lemons (I used 3)

1/3 cup lemon juice

3 cups sifted cake flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 large eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. Butter or grease a Bundt pan and sprinkle with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Mix the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Set aside.

Mix the butter until soft. Add the sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Add the eggs one at a time. On low speed, add half of the sifted flour mixture. Add the buttermilk, beating well and then add the remaining flour mixture. 

Stir in the lemon juice and then the walnuts.

Turn the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for about an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when gently pressed.

Glaze

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mix the two ingredients together while the cake is baking. Stir occasionally.

When the cake is done, let it stand for 10 minutes and then turn it out of the pan. Place it on a wire rack with parchment paper or foil underneath. Brush the glaze over the entire cake and let it completely cool.