Alice Waters' Lemon Cake Recipe

So, it took me over a month, but I've finally gotten around to eating the pomegranates I bought on a whim.  The store keeper was surprised that I've never had pomegranates before. It seems that that they are a tropical fruit commonly found in Southeast Asia, especially during celebrations like weddings. We both had a laugh when I told her that I was an underprivileged kid from Singapore who didn't get around much (I was too busy cracking my books), and I left the shop with a bag of pomegranates in hand. My news came as a surprise to my friends as well, who assured me that they were indeed easily available in Singapore. 

As I loaded the pomegranates into the fridge, I wasn't sure how to eat them. Do I just start gnawing at it, skin and all? Or do I just eat the seeds? Should I separate the red pulp from the crunchy seeds? But out of sight, out of mind. Inertia set in and I left telling myself I'll google how to eat one tomorrow, and then tomorrow again. Weeks went by and the pomegranates remained untouched in my fridge, joining the abundance of lemons i snapped up on the cheap when I was feeling under the weather.

Because the semester ends in a couple of weeks' time, I was looking for recipes to clear up what's left of my baking perishables before I leave Melbourne for the holidays. It was a happy coincidence to come across this lemon cake recipe from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, which calls for ingredients that I have on hand. 

I was just about finished with the cake when I finally noticed the pomegranates still sticking around in my fridge pretending to be a lemon, and decided it was time to do something with them. I did google the best way to prepare a pomegranate; but still, I wasn't prepared for the splash of red juice from my first enthusiastic cut into the fruit which left red stains all over my kitchen counter, my clothes, and on the fridge a meter away. Zut! 

The lemon taste in this cake was pleasant and pronounced, but without being overpoweringly sour or overly sweet - as some lemon cakes tend to be. I brought it to our weekly potluck and it was a big hit. Don't skip the lemon glaze, which elevates the flavour of the cake to the next level and gives the cake a beautiful sheen.

Meyer Lemon Cake

from Chez Panisse Cooking
Original recipe taken from https://onionsandchocolate.wordpress.com

This recipe sways on the cumbersome side of recipes, but the results are worth it. No cutting corners! I didn't like sieving, but as other bloggers have mentioned, sieved flour makes a noticeable difference to the cake. I also didn't like having to separate the egg whites from the yolks, then having to fold the whites carefully into the final mixture. I never could get the hang of folding, and would wind up with clouds of egg whites here and there, until I give up and start stirring vigorously in a circular motion, which helped somewhat. (But I'm pretty sure I can hear the horrified gasps from actual bakers.) 

Together with the glaze, the recipe uses about 3-4 lemons. As with most fruits, lemons release the most juice at room temperature. 

Ingredients for the cake:
115g (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for to grease the cake pan
280g (2 cups) cake flour (Or 245g all-purpose flour + 35g cornstarch)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
200 + 50g (1 + 1/4 cup) sugar
160ml (2/3 cup) buttermilk. (Or add a splash of lemon juice/vinegar into 2/3 cups of milk and let stand for a few minutes.)
80ml (1/3 cup) lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 pomegranate (optional, for topping)

Ingredients for the glaze:
80ml (1/3 cup) Meyer lemon juice
215g (1 1/3 cup) confectioners sugar

Steps for the cake
1) Preheat the oven to 160C (325F).

2) Melt butter in a microwave (or a saucepan) and set aside to cool. Line a cake pan (or cake tray) using aluminium foil, and grease the surface using a neutral-tasting oil or melted butter. Set aside. 

3) In a separate bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside. (Pro-tip! Because the sieve can be later be used to separate the lemon juice from the lemon pulp/seeds, I recommend that you sift the flours first.) 

4) In a dry medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Add the 50g (1/4 cup) of sugar, then continue beating until stiff peaks. (Pro-tip! To ensure the egg whites whip well, wipe down the inside of the bowl and the whisk with lemon juice - note: this is not part of the 80ml called for in the recipe.) 

5) In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with 200g (1 cup) of sugar until thick and light in color. Beat in the buttermilk, lemon juice, and zest. 

6) Fold half of the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Then fold half of the egg whites in. Then the rest of the flour, and then egg whites. 

7) Pour 1 cup of batter into the melted butter and stir well, then transfer the butter into the cake batter and fold until combined. 

8) Pour into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. 

Steps for the glaze 
Combine the lemon juice and confectioners sugar in a saucepan, and heat just until sugar is melted. Set aside until cake is done.  It will thicken up as it cools. 

When the cake is done baking, cool for 5 minutes in pan. Turn the cake out on a cooling rack, and invert. With a fork, poke the top of the cake making small holes. Slowly spoon on the glaze. Wait for the glaze to sink in, then add more. Repeat as necessary, though I saved 1/3 of the glaze to drizzle over individual slices. Top the cake with pomogrenate, if desired. 

Notes:
As I inadvertently discovered, pomegranate goes really well with this cake. On a recent attempt, I paired the cake with toasted coconut flakes, which lent the cake a tropical flavor. 

To make two cups of cake-and-pastry flour (cake flour), combine 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch; proceed with your recipe. The easiest way to do this substitution is to put 2 tbsp of cornstarch in the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the cup as usual with all-purpose flour and level top.

If the cake turns out dome-shaped, as mine was, feel free to take a serrated knife to the top to make a flat surface. You get the first taste (ha!), and it'll look better with no one the wiser. Win-win.