Lemon Streusel Cake
If you love lemon cake, you’ve got to give this over the top recipe a try. This cake uses more lemon than any other recipe I’ve ever made before. I adapted this recipe from one I saw on Martha Stewart’s baking show. I tweaked it a little after trying the original recipe. Give yourself about four hours from start to finish as there are some extra steps you have to take that you don’t do for your average cake. This cake can also be made with or without the streusel layer. If you want just pure lemon flavors, I would skip the streusel. Make sure you have enough lemons for two layers in the cake, zest for cake & lemon juice for the glaze.
Streusel Layer:
1 3/4 Cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Sticks Cold Butter
Cake:
4 Large or 6 Small Lemons
2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 Stick Room Temp Butter
1 Cup Sugar
3 TBsp Lemon Zest
2 Eggs Room Temp
1 TBsp Vanilla
1 Cup Sour Cream Room Temp
Lemon Glaze:
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
3 TBsp Melted Butter
2 TBsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Vanilla
3-4 TBsp Heavy Cream or Milk
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Your first step is to thinly slice two large lemons or 4 small lemons. You need enough slices to cover the entire cake two times. You want the slices to be as thin as possible. Place all the slices in your largest skillet and cover with an an inch or two of water. Bring to a simmer and cook ten minutes. Pour out all the water, refill and simmer again for an additional ten minutes. This helps remove the bitterness from the rind while maintaining the lemon flavor. Drain off all the water and spread the lemons out on parchment paper. Let them dry out while you prepare everything else.
In a small bowl, mix all the streusel ingredients, using a pastry cutter will make this super easy. You can also use a fork or knife to cut the butter up into small pieces. You want it to be in pea sized bits. Cover & put this in the fridge to chill. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and heavily butter your bundt pan.
For the cake, in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, first cream the butter and sugar until fluffy then slowly add the lemon zest, eggs, and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding the sour cream and the dry ingredients in several batches. Mix until just combined. Pat the lemons with a couple paper towels to remove any remaining water. In the buttered pan, spread half the batter then cover with a layer of the sliced lemons. Repeat then evenly spread the streusel mixture over the lemons. Bake for 55 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely in the pan. Once the cake is mostly cooled, place your serving platter or cake stand on top of the cake. Holding it in place, quickly flip the entire thing over to invert the cake. Once the cake is completely cooled, make the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, lemon juice & vanilla. The mixture will be quite thick at this point. Slowly drizzle in one tablespoon cream/milk at a time until you get the desired consistency. You want it thin enough to spoon over the cake and have it run down the sides.
I glazed the cake on a regular plate then moved it over to my cake stand once the glaze had set. A lot of the glaze will pool in the center of the cake if it has the standard bundt hole. I used a giant spatula to move it from the plate to the stand. Keep the cake in the fridge if you won’t be serving it right away. Remove it from the fridge an hour or two before serving it, so it will come to room temperature. Enjoy!