This is one of those everyday cakes—you know, the kind you whip up for no particular reason at all, but that bring immense joy to everyone in your house because now there’s cake to be had? Yep, this is definitely that. But it’s also so much more, ‘cause showing up with this lemony beauty at any bbq, picnic or potluck will also result in immense joy, making it the perfect party cake too! My advice? Make it this weekend ‘cause the one thing we could all use more of now is immense joy, right?!!

Just look at that lovely crumb! It’s got that wonderful melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

And the exterior bakes up chewy and golden brown. Such a great juxtaposition of textures. Yum!

And now let’s talk about what elevates this simple cake to extraordinary levels: it’s lemon, lemon, lemon through and through! Yup, not only is there lemon juice in the cake itself but there’s also lemon juice and lemon zest in that gorgeous glaze.

And that helps keep every bite, not too sweet and full of pure lemon sunshine flavor!

Okey-dokey, my friends, I think I’ve given this a big enough sell—add this wonderful treat to your weekend projects and have yourself a wonderful weekend!!!xoxo

Lemony Buttermilk Bundt Cake

Makes at least a dozen servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes; Glaze Time: 5 minutes to make and about 20 minutes for glaze to set on cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temp, plus extra for greasing the pan

• 3 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for the pan

• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• ¾ cup vegetable shortening, room temp (I used Crisco sticks)

• 2 ½ cups sugar

• 4 large eggs, room temp

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup buttermilk, room temp

• The juice of one lemon (about 3 tablespoons)

For the Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, strained

• The zest and juice of one lemon

• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted

• Pinch of fine sea salt

The Recipe

1. To make the cake: Center rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F. Butter a large Bundt pan well and dust with flour, knocking out any excess.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt and baking soda and set aside.

3. Use an electric mixer to beat the 1 ½ sticks of softened butter with the shortening at medium-high speed until it’s smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add in the sugar and beat for a couple of minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Lower the speed to medium and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated. Beat in the vanilla and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, beat in the buttermilk and flour mixture in 3 additions. On low speed, beat in the lemon juice,

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top to spread it out evenly. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotating the pan, halfway through the process, until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of the cake, comes out completely clean. If the tester comes out with some moist crumbs sticking to it, continue to bake the cake in 10 minute increments, retesting until it comes out clean. If the cake looks like it’s getting too dark, you can always cover it loosely with a piece of foil.

5. Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, Then, turn it out onto the rack to finish cooling completely.

6. To make the glaze: whisk the confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest and juice, butter and salt together in a medium bowl until smooth and pourable. Place the cake on the rack over a large rimmed baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper to catch the drips and drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let stand for at least 20 minutes to set, then transfer to a cake plate and serve. You can definitely make this at least one day ahead and store it, covered, at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from a 2014 issue of Food & Wine Magazine. I cooked this for much longer than the original recipe says but that’s prob only cause of my less than stellar oven. Still, check often—all ovens differ and you don’t want a gummy cake.