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9.01.2009

lemon cakes....


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
finely grated lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus 2 Tbsp juice for the glaze
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin. (I used six regular and the rest in a mini muffin tin) In a med bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice. Set aside.With an electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of the buttermilk mixture.Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake 20-25 min (less for mini muffins) until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before topping with glaze.In a small bowl, stir powdered sugar with the remaining 2 Tbsp of lemon juice until smooth. Pour over the cakes, spreading to the edges with a small knife. Let glaze set before serving.

I actually made these a while ago and forgot to post them...I certainly have not forgotten how amazing they tasted, though. I love lemon desserts, but do think there is such a thing as too much lemon. The glaze was a little too tart for me with the lemon juice. Next time I will just make the glaze with milk...but that's just me. If you LOVE the extra tartness of lemon juice, leave it as is. I also wanted to get more than 6 cakes, that's why I made them in 6 regular size muffin cups and the rest in a mini muffin tin. Just watch the cooking time. It will definitely cut down on the cooking time so watch them closely if you make them into mini cakes.