Lemon Lemon Loaf

When I think Spring, I think lemon...and lots of it.

This Lemon Lemon Loaf from my Baked cookbook definitely delivers big lemon flavor. A lemon cake with lemon syrup and iced with lemon glaze. If you are a true lemon lover, this cake is for you! Plus, the recipe makes two loaves, so you can easily freeze one for later (or impress your in-laws by giving one to them)!

Lemon Lemon Loaf

recipe from Baked by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito

For the loaves
1 1/2 C. cake flour
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 C. sugar
8 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 C. lemon zest (from about 4-5 lemons)
1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
2 C. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 C. sour cream, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the lemon syrup
1/3 C. fresh lemon juice
1/3 C. sugar

For the lemon glaze
2 C. confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 T. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Spray two 9x5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
 

In a medium bowl, whisk both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add the sugar, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until well combined. With the machine running, slowly pour the butter through the feed tube until incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla and pulse until combined. Transfer the batter to a large bowl. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, folding gently to incorporate after each addition. Mix only until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans and reduce the oven temperature to 325 F. Continue baking for an additional 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let the loaves cool for 15 minutes.
 

For the lemon syrup:

While the loaves are cooling, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, then continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Turn the loaves out of the pans and set on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Using a toothpick, poke holes in the tops and sides of the loaves. Brush the loaves all over with the lemon syrup. Let it soak in, then brush again until you've used all of the syrup. Cool the loaves completely. (You can wrap the loaves and freeze them (for up to 6 weeks) at this point.)

For the lemon glaze:

Whisk the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl, until smooth and pourable. Pour the glaze over the top of each loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides. Let the glaze set for about 15 minutes before serving.

Store the loaves at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. 

Baked Chocolate Donuts

 

The blog has kinda been neglected over the past several weeks, but there is a completely valid reason. We are finally putting our house on the market. Our house that is in another state. Our house that we only lived in for two years, but rented out for the past four. So needless to say, it's just a tad stressful when you add another mortgage into your monthly bill situation. Plus, we've had to make sure that it was clean and all that jazz. Stress, I tell you!

And unfortunately, I'm the type of girl that runs to food when stress takes over. I wish I was the type that would exercise or obsessively clean, but no, food makes the stress melt away, if only for a moment. So when I thought of something that I 'needed' to eat, donuts instantly came to mind. HOWEVER, for Lent, Mr. Bites & I gave up all fried foods so that meant that my donut craving would have to wait until after Easter.

Or did it. 

I remembered my lonely little donut pan that I purchased a long time ago. Even though baked donuts aren't really that spectacular, I thought I would give it a shot. I saw this wonderful recipe for chocolate donuts on Heather Cristo's website. I urge you to check it out. She made these lovely chocolate donuts with a blood orange glaze. Oh. My. Wow.

Chocolate Donuts
recipe from Heather Cristo Cooks
1 1/2 C. flour (I used all-purpose)
1/2 C. dark cocoa powder
1 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 C. buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbs butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a donut pan with cooking spray.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl, beat together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla together and then add them to the dry ingredients.

Add the melted butter to the batter and mix until incorporated. Then, pipe or spoon the donut batter into the donut pan. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Once donuts are done, turn them out onto a cooling rack and let cool.


For the glaze;
2 C. powdered sugar
4-6 T. of milk
1/4 tsp. almond extract

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract. Take cooled donut and dip just the top of the donut into the glaze. Put on cooling rack to dry. Make sure that your cooling rack has either a sheet pan or waxed paper, something to catch the excess glaze that will drip down the sides of the donut. If you want to decorate with sprinkles and sugars, do so before the glaze is completely dry.