East 62nd Street Lemon Cake Food

EAST 62ND STREET LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9‐inch tube pan. Coat it with the bread crumbs.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Stir in the lemon zest. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top of the batter. Bake 1¼ hours, or until the cake tests done.
• While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Warm the juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until all of the sugar is dissolved. Cover and remove from heat.
• When the cake is done, immediately unmold the cake onto a cake rack and apply the glaze with a pastry brush to the top and sides of the cake until it is all absorbed.

EAST 62ND STREET LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake:
• Adjust an oven rack one-third up from the bottom of oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a plain or fancy tube pan with an 11- to 12-cup capacity and dust it lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat the butter to soften it a bit. Add the sugar and beat for 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs individually, scraping the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula to keep mixture smooth. On lowest speed, alternately add the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two additions, scraping the bowl with the rubber spatula as necessary and beating only until incorporated after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in lemon zest. Turn the batter into prepared pan. Level top by rotating pan briskly back and forth.
• Bake for 1 hour and 5 to 10 minutes, until a cake tester comes out dry.
• Let cake stand in the pan for about 5 minutes and then cover with a rack and invert. Place over a large piece of aluminum foil or wax paper.
• For the glaze:
• The glaze should be used immediately after it is mixed: Stir the lemon juice and sugar together and brush all over the hot cake until absorbed.
• Let cake cool completely. Use two wide metal pancake turners or a cookie sheet to transfer it to a cake plate. Do not cut for at least several hours.
• Variations:
• I have made this with 1/2 cup Key lime juice in the glaze in place of the 1/3 cup lemon juice and it is divine. (But you should continue to use the lemon zest in the cake itself.)

MAIDA HEATTER'S EAST 62ND STREET LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack 1/3 from bottom of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9x3-1/2-inch tube pan and dust it lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In large bowl of electric mixer cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat for 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs individually, scraping the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula to keep mixture smooth. On lowest speed alternately add the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two additions, scraping the bowl with the rubber spatula as necessary and beating only until smooth after each addition. Stir in lemon rind. Turn the batter into prepared pan. Level top by rotating pan briskly back and forth.
• Bake for 1 hour and 10 to 15 minutes until a cake tester comes out dry.
• Let cake stand in pan for about 3 minutes and then cover with a rack and invert. Remove pan, leaving the cake upside down. Place over a large piece of aluminum foil or waxed paper and prepare glaze.
• The glaze must be used immediately after it is mixed.
• Stir the lemon juice and sugar together and brush all over the hot cake until absorbed.
• Let cake cool completely. Use two wide metal pancake turners or a cookie sheet to transfer it to a cake plate.
• Do not cut for at least several hours.

EAST 62ND STREET LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Position oven rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven; preheat oven to 350°.Butter a 12-cup capacity bundt pan; dust it lightly with fine, dry breadcrumbs; set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the butter until soft; add in the sugar and beat until incorporated.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl as necessary (the mixture might look curdled-that is ok).
• On lowest speed add the dry ingredients alternately in three additions with the milk in two additions, beating only until incorporated after each addition.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer; stir in lemon rind.
• Turn the batter into the prepared pan; level the top of the batter by rotating the pan briskly from left to right-and from right to left.
• Bake for 1 hour and 5-10 minutes until a pick comes out clean.
• Let the cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes, then cover with a rack and invert.
• Remove from the pan, leaving the cake upside down.
• Place over a large piece of foil or wax paper; prepare the glaze.
• The glaze: the glaze should be used immediately after it is mixed; mix the lemon juice and sugar together; brush it all over the hot cake; the cake will absorb it.
• Let cool completely and then transfer to a cake plate; it is best to wait a few hours before cutting the cake.
• **May substitute ½ cup key lime juice for the lemon juice, but Ms. Heatter recommends not changing the lemon rind to lime rind.