Lemon Cake

I got this recipe from the March Family Circle magazine. I don't subscribe to this magazine, but I was starving at the grocery store and the muffins on the front looked delicious. I haven't tried the muffins yet, but found this recipe and love it. I love lemon - it has such a natural taste- and I think it's perfect for spring. This cake is really moist and quite dense. It's also quite pretty (particularly if you can frost better than me) and would be nice for an Easter lunch.


Cake:

1 lemon
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 container (6 oz) lemon yogurt (I've made it with both lemon & plain - there is little difference)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 pound powdered sugar (about 4 cups, or half a bag)
2 Tbsp lemon juice reserved from cake
2 Tbsp water
Yellow food coloring

Directions:

Zest lemon peel (about 2 tsp) and set aside. Cut lemon in half and squeeze out juice. Reserve juice for frosting. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk, and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture. Beat well after each addition. Fold in lemon zest. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. When cake is cool, prepare frosting by beating together butter, reserved lemon juice (2 Tbsp), water, and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Gradually add more sugar until frosting is a good consistency for spreading. Tint with yellow food coloring.