Lemon Spice Visiting Cake

Lemon Spice Visiting Cake

Those of you who read The Cook’s Tour regularly, know that I love, LOVE, warm, comforting cakes - coffee cakes, pound cakes, tea cakes, quick breads - you get the idea. Given a choice, I will always take this kind of baked good over a sweet layer cake or gooey pastry. 

So last week when we had some good friends visiting us here in sunny Puerto Rico, I knew I had to bake up something delicious to nibble on during their stay. I had purchased a giant bag of lemons at Costco the week before, and you know what they say…when life gives you lemons…NO, you don’t make lemonade, you bake a lemon cake! After scouring the thousands of recipes in my files, I decided on Dorie Greenspan’s Lemon Spice Visiting Cake. One, because it sounded like it would be fabulous, and two, the title evokes everything I love about baking - the act of sharing something you baked to welcome people to your home, or bringing it with you to a friend. 

This cake has it all - it’s luscious, easy to prepare, keeps very well, can be used as a sweet treat post-breakfast (as we did), for a midnight snack (as we did, with a glass of wine - don’t judge), an afternoon treat, or you could dress it up with some berries and whipped cream for a semi-formal dessert. The marmalade glaze is optional, but I recommend it, it adds just a touch of sweetness and a beautiful sheen.

Bake it up soon and you, too, will be singing it’s praises! 

Dorie Greenspan’s Lemon Spice Visiting Cake

Notes from Dorie: Whether you pack this cake as a gift or have it ready when visitors come to you, the imperative to share is implicit in its name. The cake is built for comfort and durability – make it on Thursday or Friday and have it all weekend. And if it stales, toast it; the heat will intensify the lemon and spice deliciously. The cake is easy to make (no machines needed) and, like all spice cakes, better after a day’s rest. Giving it a swish of warmed marmalade when it comes out of the oven is optional. What shouldn’t be passed up is what I call the ‘lemon trick’: Use your fingertips to rub the recipe’s lemon and sugar together until the sugar is moist and aromatic. This easy step transfers everything essential from the lemon to the cake. Think of it as aromatherapy for the cake and you.

Makes 10 servings

INGREDIENTS

Butter and flour for the pan

1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 ¼ cups/250 grams sugar

1 large (or 2 small) lemons

4 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup/120 milliliters heavy cream, at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

5 ½ tablespoons/75 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

⅓ cup marmalade, for glaze (optional)

½ teaspoon water, for glaze (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350. Butter an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan (Pyrex works well), dust with flour and tap out the excess. (For this cake, bakers’ spray isn’t as good as butter and flour.) Place on a baking sheet.

Whisk the 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, cardamom, ginger and salt together.

Put the sugar in a large bowl, and grate the zest of the lemon(s) over the sugar. Squeeze the lemon(s) to produce 3 tablespoons juice, and set this aside. Using your fingers, rub the sugar and zest together until the mixture is moist and aromatic. One at a time, add the eggs, whisking well after each. Whisk in the juice, followed by the heavy cream. Still using the whisk, gently stir the dry ingredients into the batter in two additions. Stir the vanilla into the melted butter, and then gradually blend the butter into the batter. The batter will be thick and have a beautiful sheen. Scrape it into the loaf pan.

Bake for 70 to 75 minutes (if the cake looks as if it’s getting too dark too quickly, tent it loosely with foil) or until a tester inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a rack, let rest for 5 minutes and then carefully run a blunt knife between the sides of the cake and the pan. Invert onto the rack, and turn over. Glaze now, or cool to room temperature.

For the glaze: Bring the marmalade and water to a boil. Brush the glaze over the top of the warm cake, and allow to it to set for 2 hours. The glaze will remain slightly tacky.

When the cake is completely cool, wrap in plastic to store. If it’s glazed, wrap loosely on top.