Makes 6 - 8 servings
My mother was a single mom who loved her coworkers. She enjoyed baking and often presented them this wonderful lemon cake on their birthdays. To her, it was a joy to see their eyes light up when they opened the container and saw this fabulous cake. We called her Memaw and this would make her proud. This contest's judges thought it was a winner and so do we!
Thinner glaze
1 cup softened butter |
3 cups sugar |
6 eggs, room temp |
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice |
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest |
3 cups all-purpose flour |
½ teaspoon baking soda |
½ teaspoon salt |
1¼ cups sour cream |
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10" tube pan. Set aside. Mix butter and sugar, then and eggs (one at a time) in a large mixing bowl, creating a creamy mixture. Blend in the lemon juice and zest.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; then blend into the egg mixture.
Blend in the sour cream, combining well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 55-60 minutes. Let cool some, then remove from pan and continue cooling on a rack.
¼ cup sour cream |
2 tablespoons softened butter |
2¼ cups powdered sugar |
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice |
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest |
Beat the sour cream and butter together in a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, combining well. Mixture should be pourable but fairly thick – the consistency of a milkshake... if it appears too thin, add ¼ cup more powdered sugar and a tad more lemon juice.
Drizzle half the icing on the completely cooled cake, letting it seep into the cake. Later, and before serving, drizzle the remaining icing onto cake, puddling onto the plate. Sprinkle top with additional lemon zest for added color and flavor. Garnish with slice lemons or as desired. Refrigerate leftovers.
*Rum or brandy (real or flavorings) may be added as part of the soaking water to add another
layer of flavor.
**This winner used her own homemade bread and did not remove crusts - in testing, we chose
a store-bought artisan white bread - dense and thick and did remove much of the crust.