Meyer lemons are the darling of the food world and are featured in lots of food magazines. After I saw a historical Meyer lemon poster, I was craving anything and everything lemon—and Meyer lemons would be ideal.
Meyer lemons were discovered by a “plant hunter,” sent by the USDA to uncover crops that would thrive in the US. Frank Meyer was the man and the year was 1908. I uncovered this historical tidbit at the National Archives exhibit, “What’s Cooking Uncle Sam?” and featured it in my Kansas City Star Chowtown post.
I was in luck. Meyer lemons are in season and I readily found them at the specialty markets and Trader Joe’s. For those not familiar with these sunny gems, they are actually a cross between a lemon and an orange or Mandarin orange, are thin skinned and are really juicy. Best of all, their flavor is … wow! Yes, it is a lemon, but a great lemon—slightly sweeter and less bitter. If you are now craving lemons, you might enjoy this article, in the Los Angeles Times on 100 things to do with Meyer lemons.
My weekend lemon craving resulted in two Meyer lemon recipes. This Meyer lemon cake is a moist, luscious cake with a perfect tart/sweet flavor! (Let’s all thank Saveur for sharing such a great recipe.) The Meyer lemon vinaigrette is packed with lemon flavor and yet, proportionately has a little less oil than most dressings. I found it absolutely perfect drizzled over roasted asparagus. Enjoy this lemon fix.
The Best Meyer Lemon Cake
1 tablespoon + 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds (see note below)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon extract
Zest and juice of 2 Meyer lemons (See note below)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan with the 1 tablespoon melted butter and dust with the bread crumbs. Tap out excess crumbs and set aside.
Place the almonds in a food processor and process until very fine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Combine the remaining 1/2 cup melted butter and 1 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed for 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating just long enough to incorporate, about 30 seconds. Add the flour mixture, in 3 batches, alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until mixed after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, about 3 minutes total. Mix in lemon extract. With the spatula, fold in the lemon zest and ground almonds. Turn batter into prepared pan.
Bake 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place pan on a cooling rack.
For the glaze, combine the remaining 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and the juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until hot and the sugar dissolves. (Do not boil.) Brush the glaze over the hot cake. (The excess liquid may pool along the sides of the pan; it will absorb completely as it sits.) Once the cake has absorbed all the liquid, turn it out of the pan and allow it to cool, upright, on a rack.
Once cool, wrap the cake with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours before serving. (Note: Is it good on that first day? Yes, and I couldn’t wait to taste it, but it is even better the next day.)
Makes 1 loaf cake.
Credit: Saveur , January 24, 2012, by Maida Heatter
Tips: Blanched, whole almonds are sold more readily during the holidays so I could only find whole almonds (and the brown skin would discolor this lovely cake.) I used slivered blanched almonds and found that to achieve the exact same amount of almonds I used 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon slivered almonds and it worked great.
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice (See note below)
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or honey
1/4 cup olive oil
In a small bowl, whisk together juice, shallot, mustard and agave syrup. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly.
Makes about 1/2 cup.
Notes on Meyer Lemons: You can use a regular lemon in any recipe calling for a Meyer lemon – but taste it for if the recipe was written for a Meyer lemon and you use a regular lemon you may want to add a touch more sweetening. When in season and you have plenty of Meyer lemons, juice them and freeze the juice in 1 tablespoon portions in an ice cube tray. Once solid, pop them out and seal them in a freezer bag. You can then use the juice as you want it in the months ahead.
Leave a Reply