Lemon Vanilla Bundt Cake

I actually baked this lemon vanilla Bundt cake back in June 2009, but as long as you can buy good lemons for the lemon zest, it's not necessarily a "summery" cake. It's a bit heavier, as it's a pound cake, but it's quite good. My Prince really prefers light sweets to rich sweets, so he really enjoyed it. & it made for a wonderful, indulgent breakfast with a cup of coffee, too!

I found this recipe in the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.

lemon vanilla Bundt cake

(yield: makes one 10-inch cake)

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup club soda (not seltzer)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

(Do go ahead & set out your eggs ahead of time, as well, to ensure they are at room temperature. This recipe specifically instructs them to be room temperature, but I generally almost ALWAYS set my butter&eggs out ahead of time - up to an hour, if possible - when baking. The butter is easier to work with, & usually fits the bill for "softened" without having to do any additional microwave or warm water tricks that could result in "melted" butter. & the better your batter or dough sets up, the better the consistency&taste of your final product!)

*Grease & lightly flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

(My granny's time-tested strategy for greasing & lightly flouring cake pans just plain won't work in a Bundt pan. I admit that I used Pam for the Bundt pan - & I usually use it when just "baking" a boxed mix of brownies...& I just looove the way Pam smells!!!)

*In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter & the sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour in thirds, alternating with the club soda, beating after each addition until smooth. Add the vanilla extract & the lemon zest & mix well. Pour the batter into prepared pan & bake 70-80 minutes until golden brown or a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove from pan & cool completely on wire rack.

(Again, I reiterate the importance of taking your time with your batter. Be patient with properly alternating your ingredients. It really does make a difference.)

*Supposedly, the secret to the tender crumb is the club soda. My mama had never heard of baking a Bundt or pound cake with club soda, & she was appropriately impressed with this recipe. I also really love the flavor of the fresh lemon zest (& I love the way it makes my kitchen smell, too!)

(Back when I baked this, I had no plans to blog about it. I had no plans to blog at all! I'm attempting to get a bit more sophisticated when photographing my culinary goodies these days. Or at least waiting until they've been moved from the wire rack to a cake plate!)