VANILLA LEMON CAKE WITH LEMON GLAZE

INGREDIENTS

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups vanilla-infused sugar*

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup buttermilk

LEMON GLAZE:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325° and grease a patterned cake pan or Bundt-cake pan with shortening (use a pastry brush to get into crevasses), then sprinkle with flour and tap excess out into sink or garbage. 

(You can also line 12 muffin tins with paper liners to make cupcakes.)In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest to blend.

In another medium bowl, whisk cake flour, baking powder, and salt.In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until well blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. 

Gradually beat in egg mixture until well mixed. 

Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each, starting and ending with the flour mixture.

Pour batter into pan or cupcake liners, and bake until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes for the cake and 25 minutes for cupcakes.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

GLAZE: whisk confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice together until smooth, and brush over surface of cake (while still warm, ideally) with a pastry brush.  If using a patterned cake pan, keep glaze thin… if using a plain cake pan or cupcakes, you can add more sugar to thicken the glaze if you’d like. 

Sprinkle candied lemon zest over top of glaze before it sets (optional- see instructions below).