My Recipe Reviews

Recipe Reviews, Recommendations, Tips and Musings. Thanks for visiting!

lemon

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake (#thecakeslicebakers)

by 6 Comments

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

July’s Cake Slice Baker’s options for our challenge include this Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake from the wonderful cake cookbook The Perfect Cake by America’s Test Kitchen. I’m loving this book more and more every month!

At first I thought, oh gee another lemon cake, but after making this I’ve decided this is my favorite lemon cake ever. Really. Ever.

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

The instructions from The Perfect Cake are excellent each step of the way. I love the way the sugar and lemon zest are mixed together first of all, bringing out the lemon aroma and flavor to the extreme.

But wait – there’s more lemon! Fresh lemon juice and more zest (fresh only, please – no green-bottle lemon juice) are mixed in along with buttermilk, eggs (3 whole, plus 1 yolk), and butter. They recommend the eggs, buttermilk, and butter be at room temperature as it really helps the mixture come together and results in a more creamy batter.

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

Not enough lemon? Let’s top it off with lemon zest-sugar mixture sprinkled across the top. The result is a light, spongy lemon cake finished off with a nice lemon-buttermilk glaze and a crunchy sugar topping. Heaven for lemon lovers!

A change I made to the recipe is that I made my own buttermilk (one cup of 2% milk and one teaspoon vinegar, stir and let sit while other ingredients come to room temperature). It worked great as I don’t usually have buttermilk in the fridge. I also made an 8×8″ cake and 3 mini-loaves instead of a 13×9″ cake so I could give some of the cake to friends more easily. Besides that, this Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake works perfectly by ATK’s instructions.

If you love lemon…..here you go!

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

Yield: 12-15 pieces
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Outstanding lemony cake with a lightly sugar-crunch lemony glaze.

Ingredients

  • For the Cake:
  • 2 1/2 C (10 oz) cake flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 C buttermilk, room temperature
  • 3 tbsp grated lemon zest, plus 1/4 C juice (about 3 lemons)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 C (12 1/4 oz) granulated sugar
  • 12 tbsp butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
  • 3 large eggs plus 1 large yolk, room temperature
  • For the Glaze:
  • 3 C (12 oz) powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp buttermilk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray and flour a 13x9" baking pan.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
  3. In a stand mixer bowl, beat together the sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until moist, fragrant, and fully combined, about 1 minute. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the sugar/lemon mixture and place in a small bowl; cover and set aside.
  4. Add the butter to the sugar mixture in the stand mixer bowl and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 2 additions, and mix until smooth, about 30 seconds (don't over mix). Remove the bowl from the stand and stir by hand to make sure there's no flour on the bottom of the bowl.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, 25 to 30 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
  6. For the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, lemon juice, and buttermilk in a bowl until smooth. Spread the glaze over the still-warm cake and sprinkle evenly with the reserved lemon sugar mixture. Let cool completely, at least 2 hours.

Notes

I made my own buttermilk (stir together 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vinegar and let sit for at least 15 minutes). It's a nice trick if you don't have buttermilk in the fridge.

It's important that ingredients are at room temperature, so don't skip that. Sometimes ingredients will look (and be) curdled if ingredients are too cold.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 square
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 238Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 338mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g
© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes

Lemon Glazed Scones

by 1 Comment

 Winter time means great citrus fruit time.  A friend gave us some beautiful homegrown lemons and there was no way I was going to let them go bad.  They’re bright yellow with a rather thin skin and were bursting with juice.  

These Lemon Glazed Scones are just perfect to really showcase the bright, fresh flavor.


The scone is barely sweet and the amazing lemon glaze really complemented the flavor.  I had a hard time not licking the glaze bowl.  It’s tart, sweet, and lemony and the addition of the butter made it creamy and buttery, too.  What a combination!


These were divine with coffee.  It makes me want to go out and get one of those greenhouse lemon trees.  If only I had somewhere to grow them!

Lemon Glazed Scones

Lemon Glazed Scones

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Barely sweet scone with a creamy, tart-sweet glaze.

Ingredients

  • Scones:
  • lemon zest from one large lemon
  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 C evaporated milk
  • Glaze:
  • 1 C powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  
  2. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest.  
  3. In another medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and soda. Stir flour mixture into sugar/lemon mixture until combined.
  4. Grate the butter into the flour mixture and mix quickly with your hands until it resembles coarse meal.  In a small bowl, combine the egg and milk.  Pour into the flour mixture and stir all together until thoroughly combined.
  5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a smooth ball. Shape into a 7 or 8" circle, about 3/4" thick and cut into 8 even triangles.  
  6. Place the scones onto a parchment covered baking sheet with a little room between each.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes until very lightly golden brown - don't over bake.  
  7. Allow the scones to cool on a rack.  When completely cool, whisk together the glaze ingredients and brush onto scones. Let set before storing.

Notes

I sprinkled a little turbinado sugar on each scone before baking.  I loved the crunch it gave them after baked.  

I also sprinkled a little more lemon zest on each scone after they were glazed.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 scones
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 244Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 308mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 5g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Breads/Muffins

Mellow Lemon Crinkle Cookies

by Leave a Comment

 
I’m still on a citrus fruit kick and have been looking for a good recipe with lemon flavoring.  Earlier this year I tried Lemon Scones and oh my, were they bad….even with coffee and I will eat anything if you pair it with coffee! 

Therefore, dear readers, I did not and will not post that recipe.  Sorry…it sounded good in theory.  However, I did come across a luscious Mellow Lemon Crinkle Cookies recipe by Lauren Brennan and they’re great!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

They remind me a lot of Archers Lemon Cookies – lemony without too much acid and sweet with a delicate texture. 

Bret’s not much on lemon so I made these while he was out of town and got to graze on them for almost a week.  

I definitely got my lemon fix from these delicious cookies.  I thought I’d be smart and do half of them rolled in powdered sugar as the recipe instructs (see photo above) and the other half in sparkly turbinado-like sugar (hmm, see photo below). 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies baked with turbinado sugar

I squeezed some left-over lemon juice into about 1/4 C. large-grained sparkling sugar, spread it out to let it dry, and then rolled the second batch of cookie dough in it.  

As you can see, these Lemon Crinkle Cookies didn’t turn out particularly pretty, but they were better this way with the lemony sugar crunch. Maybe next time I’ll just dip the tops of the rolled dough in it instead of coating the entire cookie.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Light and lemony - a perfect springtime cookie.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C butter, softened
  • 1 C granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 drops lemon extract, (optional)
  • 2 drops yellow food grade coloring, (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Spray baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside. 
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, juice, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring (if desired).  Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and mix again. 
  4. In a medium bowl, combine the salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar/butter mixture and mix on low until just combined.
  5. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate.  Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball, roll in powdered sugar and place on prepared baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies puff up.  Cool cookies on the cookie sheets about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Notes

For a more yellow cookie, add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring, but that's entirely optional.  

For a little bit more lemony flavor, you can add the lemon extract - just not too much or it will be bitter.  

These are similar to the popular cake mix crinkle cookies, but so much more flavorful and they don't taste like they have a bunch of preservatives in them!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 109Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Lauren Brennan
Category: Cookies

Lemon Pie Coffee Cake

by 3 Comments

Updated: October 2020

I could eat coffee cake as often as you set it in front of me. Number one because I like the cake, but most of all anything I can drink coffee with is tops in my book.

Lemon Pie Coffee Cake

I’ve had this Lemon Pie Coffee Cake recipe forever and promised myself one day it would get made.  It’s easy to throw together and, besides the pie filling, you’ll have all these ingredients in your cabinet.

The second time I made this, I used a “can” of lemon pie filling. It’s supposed to be 15 3/4 ounces, but I accidentally picked up a 22 ounce can. And I used it all. Whoops. That’s a lot of filling.

Lemon Pie Coffee Cake

Because of the little filling error, the second Lemon Pie Coffee Cake came out loaded with pie filling and not that much crust. We put a dollop of very lightly sweetened whipped cream and it became a luscious, layered, lemony dessert – almost like a trifle.

The final sugar sprinkled on the top gives it a nice crunch, so don’t forego that part.

A friend made it with blueberry pie filling and loved it – I can’t wait to experiment with the fillings!

Lemon Pie Coffee Cake

Next on the agenda is apple pie filling with a cinnamony-sugar topping. If you’d rather, use your favorite homemade pie filling. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Such an easy lemon coffee cake recipe with simple ingredients. This one is definitely a keeper!

Lemon Pie Coffee Cake

Lemon Pie Coffee Cake

Yield: 16 - 20 pieces
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Very tender coffee-cake texture loaded with lemon filling.  Try it with
different kinds of pie fillings!

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ Cups sugar, divided
  • ¾ Cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 Cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 can (15 ¾ oz.) lemon pie filling

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 13x9" or 11 3/4 x 7 1/2" baking dish (see note under Tips and Stuff below) and set aside.
  2. In a stand mixing bowl, combine 1 cup sugar, oil, and vanilla; mix well.  Add eggs; beat until lightly lemon-colored. 
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Give it a final stir by hand to make sure the flour isn't stuck at the bottom of the bowl.
  4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Carefully top with the pie filling, smooth to the edges with the back of a large spoon. Pour the rest of the batter over the top of the pie filling.
  5. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar over the top of the cake, then bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack in the pan. Best served cool or right out of the refrigerator.

Notes

I've made this in a 13x9" baking dish (glass) and an 11 3/4 by 7 1/2" baking dish (glass) and both work fine. If using a smaller dish, bake the cake for five to ten minutes longer. I liked it a bit better in the smaller baking dish because it's thicker.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 217Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 122mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 3g
© SusanB
Category: Cakes