Citrus Season is here and we are loving it! Years ago I baked Maida Heatter’s “East 62nd Street Lemon Cake,” and it truly was the best lemon cake. She says its better than her “Best Damn Lemon Cake” recipe which says a lot. Since then, i’ve made it several different times and we always use a variety of citrus so now I like to call it the “Best Damn Citrus Cake.” I can not take credit for most of the recipe, but it is too good not to share.
What is in this Citrus Bundt Cake
Citrus Lemon, Orange, Clementines, Meyer Lemons, Blood Oranges, Lime and Grapefruit are all so yummy in this cake. You just need 1 Tbsp of finely grated fresh citrus zest and 1/3 cup citrus juice.
Dry Ingredients All purpose flour, baking powder, and salt are the dry components to the cake. Combine them in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk to “sift” the ingredients.
Butter Two sticks of softened unsalted butter go into this cake. Butter makes everythings better, right?
Sugar Granulated Sugar gives this cake a lovely texture and a crunchy glaze. There is 2 cups in the batter and 2/3 cup in the glaze. You don’t mix the citrus juice and sugar for the glaze until right before you pour it. That allows for the sugar crystals to stick to the cake and create a crust-like texture and the juice soaks into the cake.
Eggs Add the eggs one at a time to allow the eggs to fully incorperate into the batter.
Milk Alternating the milk and dry ingredients gives the cake a light texture rather than all at once which creates more gluten. Developing more gluten creates a tough, dense cake.
Additional Tools and Ingredients We love this Bundt pan, It looks so beautiful without any extra work! Baker’s Joy Baking Spray is so great at keeping the cake from sticking to the pan. No need to grease the pan with butter and flour!
Glaze Combine the lemon juice and sugar immediately before brushing over the cake gives it a unique crust-like texture, unlike most glazes which are thick and extremely sweet. I love watching the sugars slowly stick together as the cake cools.
What to Serve with this Citrus Bundt Cake
Whats the Occasion? Making this cake can be the special occasion to have guest over. Nonetheless, this cake is great for all occasions from Sunday Supper with friends and family to birthdays, baby showers or your Easter Brunch.
Drink Pairings That being said, a mimosa or your favorite tea goes perfectly with a slice of citrus cake for brunch. If you are wanting to step up your cocktail game, a French 75 would be an impressive drink to serve along side it.
The Feast Before the Treat Our Balsamic Beet & Winter Fruit Salad with a perfectly cooked Steak or Spaghetti Bolognese would be an incredible meal to have before you bring out this incredible cake. You can serve it alone or with fresh whipped cream and berries.
If you like this recipe try our Perfect Pear & Clove Cake, White Chocolate Almond Scones, or our favorite Jammy Oat Bars.
Recipe
The Best Citrus Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Softened Unsalted Butter, 2 Sticks
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar, plus 2/3 Cup for Glaze
- 4 Eggs, room temp.
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 Tbsp Citrus Zest
- 1/3 Cup Fresh Citrus Juice (Lemon, Meyer Lemon, Lime, Clementine, Orange, Grapefruit or Blood Orange)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350F and Grease a 12 cup Bundt Pan with baking spray.
- Step 2 Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Step 3 In a standing mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and 2 cups sugar for 3 minutes or until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing about 20 seconds until smooth.
- Step 4 Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk in two additions, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula between additions. Finally, Fold in the citrus zest until just incorporated.
- Step 5 Pour the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan.
- Step 6 Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking.
- Step 7 Allow the cake to cool for about 5 minutes and then cover with a cooling rack and carefully invert. Place over a large cookie sheet or aluminum foil.
- Step 8 Once inverted, combine the lemon juice and 2/3 cup sugar and immediately brush it over the hot cake until absorbed. If some of the glaze drips off the cake, brush the glaze that has dripped onto the rack over the top of the cake. Let the cake cool completely and then transfer the cake using two large spatulas to a cake plate and enjoy!
About the Author
Lauren is a classically trained, professional chef. A culinary school graduate, she has spent time working organic farms in the Italian countryside and was the pastry/sous chef at a high profile restaurant in Dallas prior to becoming a full-time personal chef. Her cooking style is often referred to as “rustic.” Being a personal chef, she is not bound by a single type of cuisine and has had the opportunity to experiment with hundreds of regional recipes from all over the world.
