You Know Me And Lemon

Rustic Lemon Lavender Cornmeal Pound Cake

If I don’t eat something lemony at least seventeen times a once a week, I go into withdrawals.  I love chocolate… and Twinkies… and Cheetos…and Twinkies stuffed with Cheetos…and Cheetos stuffed with Twinkies (sorry. I’ll stop now.) but sometimes I just have to have that kick from lemon. Mind you, unlike my 15 year old son, I do NOT suck on lemon halves *shudders at the thought*. And while I actually like the new Lemon Twinkies (c’mon, did you really think I’d let those pass by without a try?) even I have to say that they can’t compare to home made treats.

I mentioned in the last lemon post I made…erhm, which was one of my last posts actually. Is this a sign of a rut? Nahhhhh.

Moving on. I mentioned in the last post that lemon has always seemed a good Spring flavor to me. It also works for Easter which would be a good excuse to make the recipe I’m sharing today.

I wanted to make a pound cake. I wanted lemon. But all the lemon pound cake recipes sounded boring. So… say it with me, regular readers… I played with a recipe. Like most cooks, I love Cooks Illustrated recipes. But today, I was antsy and even their stuff seemed boring to me. Heresy, I know. That’s like saying Martha Stewart doesn’t look good in an orange jumpsuit or Sandra Lee is a tee totaler. So I took one of their pound cake recipes and made it mine. Mine I say!!! Buahahahahaaaaaaa. Then just to add insult to injury, when I was done making it and glazing it, I covered it in Easter sprinkles. Why? Just cause I’m that kind of a gal.

This is a very rustic pound cake with a wonderful texture. That was what I was trying for and I am happy to say that I succeeded.  I replaced some of the flour with corn meal, added lemon oil (you can use extract) as well as zest and juice and used 1/4 cup less sugar than they called for because I wanted this to be only mildly sweet with the texture of the cake being the star. I also added some finely minced fresh Lavender because I love playing with herbs and cakes. It added a really nice subtle floral essence and mild taste to the cake.  This is a perfect cake for an Easter meal or a Springtime dessert or just cause it’s yummy and you want to sit with the whole cake on a plate in front of the TV and watch Glee reruns.

So go…buy some lemons. And some Easter sprinkles. Because sprinkles make me happy.

Rustic Lemon Lavender Cornmeal Pound Cake

  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh lavender leaves (I used a touch over 1; may use a bit more next time)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup corn meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil (can sub 1 teaspoon lemon extract)
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar (the original called for 2 cups)
  • Glaze-
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • a touch of yellow food coloring if you want it to be…well…yellow.
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan with baking cooking spray (the kind that has both flour and shortening). Make sure you spray it well. I guess I didn’t because mine stuck in a few places.
  2. Combine the lemon juice, lemon zest and lavender in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Whisk flour, corn meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
  4. Combine the lemon juice mixture, extracts and buttermilk in a bowl.
  5. In a small bowl, mix the eggs and egg yolk.
  6. In a large bowl (you DO like doing dishes, don’t you?) cream together the butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  7. Reduce speed of beater and add half the eggs. Beat until combined. Add the remaining eggs. Beat until combined.
  8. At low speed, add about one third of the flour mixture, followed by about half of the buttermilk mixture. Only mix until it is combined. Don’t over beat.
  9. Repeat, using half of the remaining flour mixture and the rest of the buttermilk mixture. Finish with the last bit of flour mix. Mix until thoroughly combined.
  10. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
  11. Bake at 350 until top is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out with no loose crumbs attached.
  12. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then loosen edges with a sharp knife and turn out onto a plate or rack to finish cooling.
  13. When completely cool, combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over cake. Add Easter sprinkles. You heard me… add them. Or you’re grounded! :-

    Rustic Lemon Lavender Cornmeal Pound Cake

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21 thoughts on “You Know Me And Lemon

    • Yep… the Hostess people have now gotten onto the “Limited Edition” bandwagon with Lemon and Chocolate Twinkies. The chocolate ones totally suck but the lemon ones are actually pretty good.

  1. Ha-firstly tell your son he will have no enamel on his teeth if he keeps on with the lemons, that citric acid is eating it away!
    Homemade lemon twinkies at your house yes, manufactured on the grocers shelves-no.
    Now lets see-lemon oil, lemon zest, lemon juice. Sounds like this cake has what it needs to register a yum by my taste buds! Enjoy the evening!

  2. Oh my gosh Janet…what a gorgeous cake! I love all things lemon, too. And it’s such a great springtime flavor. But I really love that you added some cornmeal here…..and lavender! And the pastel sprinkles make it look as lovely as I know it tastes! : )

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