San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
A lemon cake you’ll want to eat all week
Buttery, citrusy and not too sweet, this loaf cake takes advantage of Meyer lemon season
I heard on a podcast recently that babies are naturally drawn to sweet foods. Well, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t that type of baby. In fact, I don’t think my sweet tooth ever really grew in. I’m not exactly what you’d call a sweets guy or cake enthusiast.
If I’m going to bake a dessert, my inclination is toward something flaky and buttery, like a good pie with a fruity filling that’s close to natural sweetness. However, when I find myself in the mood for cake, I lean toward the charm of a loaf. A loaf cake has a way of teasing my taste buds. It leaves me wanting more, never overshares and is never too sugary. It’s always just right. I affectionately refer to them as my Monday through Thursday Cakes.
They’re the kind of cakes you whip up on a lazy Sunday afternoon and then enjoy the rest of the week: a slice on Monday for a quick breakfast, a light dessert for Tuesday and Wednesday, and maybe even griddle a slab in some butter until golden and crisp on Thursday. They rarely make it to Friday, but these sturdy cakes can last all week.
Meyer lemons are in season and great to bake with because of their well-rounded citrus flavor and mild rinds. They’ve become my new go-to for this kind of cake. I love chopping them whole and folding them into a buttery batter speckled with crunchy poppy seeds. It’s a classic flavor combination, but Meyer lemons give it more depth with a note of tangerine.
When you put multiple whole lemons in a cake, you might think it’s going to be overwhelmingly lemony or bitter, but fear not. This is a cake that’s just lemony enough, just sweet enough, and just the right kind of cake to normalize eating cake all week — before you make another on the weekend.