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We’re cooking with gratitude this Thanksgiving! Check out Lazarus Lynch’s Church Hat Lemon Cake recipe featured in our Thanksgiving episode below.
INGREDIENTS:
Church Hat Lemon Cake
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar,
- 4 to 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For Garnishing
- Candied lemon
- Lemon zest
- Mint leaves
- Chopped Pistachio (optional)
Candied Lemon slices
- 2 organic lemons
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a Bundt pan with butter and lightly flour it, tapping out any excess.
- Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,cream together 1 cup butter, shortening, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one egg at a time, beating after each addition, then add the vanilla.
- Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture and half the cream and mix until the flour disappears.
- Add the remaining flour, remaining cream, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice.
- Mix just until the flour disappears.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir by hand to make sure everything is well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake has risen, the top is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- Invert the cake onto a plate and let cool completely.
Lemon Glaze
- In a medium bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Pour the icing over the cake and serve
Candid Lemons
- Slice your lemons as thin as possible and set them aside.
- Do this step if you want to blanch the slices: Set up a bowl of ice water. Heat water in a medium pan until boiling and then remove it from the heat. Add the lemon slices and stir for 1 minute and drain. Immediately, place the slices in the ice bath for 30 seconds and drain.
- In a wide bottomed pot, add the sugar and water and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon slices and poach until translucent. Be patient, this can take 25-45 minutes depending on how thin you slice it.
- Lay them out on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Let them dry overnight or alternatively, bake the chips at 200°F turning them over occasionally. Bake them for about an hour or until they start to stiffen up. Let them cool.
