When Life Gives You Lemons...

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Honey Lemon Loaf Cake

with lemon glaze

Hello hello! How did everyone enjoy their Memorial Day weekend?! Hopefully it was filled with good company, good weather, and of course good food! I made this cake this week and though it was just the perfect summer cake and would have been perfect for a Memorial Day BBQ.

I  don't know about you but I am a HUGE fan of anything lemon. It surprises me how many people do not like lemon. I could eat gallons of lemon water ice, a ton of lemon bars, lemon cookies, lemon chicken, and slurp glass after glass of lemonade. So for me this cake is absolutely perfect! And for those of you who aren't too thrilled about anything lemon I recommend trying this cake. It's not a super strong lemon flavor. 

This cake is super light with a sweet yet slightly tart flavor.

  

Honey Lemon Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• Zest of 1 full lemon

For the Glaze

• Juice of 1 full lemon
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9in loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over the edges. This will make it easier to remove from the pan. 
3. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together the honey, sugar, butter and eggs.
5. Add the milk and lemon zest then mix further.
6. Add the flour mixture and blend it until it's just combined.
7. Pour it into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
8. Bake it for 30 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is a golden brown. It will bake much quicker on the top and edges and look finished but check the middle with a toothpick to be sure. 

To Make the Glaze

1. In a small bowl whisk together the reserved lemon juice, honey and powdered sugar.
2. With a spoon drizzle the glaze over top of the warm cake and let it soak in for 10 – 15 minutes.

Using the parchment paper overhang lift the cake out of the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing it. Enjoy!

Pucker Up!

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Lemon Coolers

(mmmmmmm)

So last night I was finally getting around to getting the rest of my pictures from my trip. Its been a while and we had yet to exchange all of our pictures and I was anxious to see the rest! Anyways we were planning on just hanging out and having some wine and catching up so I thought I would bake something for us to munch on. I was planning on whipping out some monkey bread but didn't feel like running out to the supermarket for supplies & I was at my parents house so I had very little options.

I found one single lemon left in the fridge so I thought lemon bars would be perfect! I have a weird thing about eating with the seasons. I just feel that certain things taste better and go better with certain times of the year. Normal? Yes. Some people (well person lol) think that is completely bizarre. But think about it. How great is an ice cold lemon aide in the middle of summer as opposed to freezing cold winter. So I thought lemon bars are perfect for a summer night with the ladies. So that's what I did. Well I only had one lemon so instead I made lemon coolers!

 How great are they?! Light, crisp, and all citrus-ie with all that powdered sugar on top. MMMM perfect!

So this recipe is super easy. But MAKE SURE you let the dough set in the fridge or freezer. It needs to be firm enough to roll into a ball with out being melty or sticky. I learned the hard way, being as impatient as I am that YOU HAVE TO WAIT! My first batch came out all flat and super burnt on the bottom.

(how great do those look up close! omg mmmmm!)   

I basically just added a tad lemon juice and zest to a simple cookie dough.

Lemon Coolers

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In seperate bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, cream butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest until creamy (1-2 minutes). Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and eggs until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low adding in dry ingredients until just combined.

 Chill dough in refrigerator or freezer until firm - about 30 minutes.

Roll teaspoons (keep them small for that perfect little crunch) of dough into balls, place on cookie sheets, and bake 10 minutes or until light golden on the bottoms. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. When cool, dip cookies into confectioners' sugar.

ENJOY!