Bake-Along's Anniversary and Farewell Bake : Lady Bird Lemon Bundt Cake

It's Bake-Along 5th Anniversary! And Bake-Along is saying goodbye! 

It seems like only yesterday when we, Lena, Zoe and myself, started Bake-Along. I remember how excited we were, with dozens of ideas and suggestions on how to make Bake-Along a fun event. We did not expect that it would last for 5 years. Well, this month of May, marks Bake-Along's 5th Anniversary, five full years of baking together with friends. And now, a farewell post as well. It has been a great, wonderful, fabulous 5 baking years. We have done some bakes that we would never have thought of making on our own. My heartful thanks to everyone, for the support and encouragement, particularly to Lena and Zoe, my wonderful baking buddies, for the glorious 5 years of Bake-Along. We have done well indeed!  

I've made a lemony bundt cake, Lady Bird Lemon Bundt Cake. This cake is the recipe of Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. Her recipe is so popular that it has been passed around thousands of time over the decades, and there are many versions of it.  If you google for info from the web, you would find many similar recipes to this.

Thank you, Bake-Along for 5 delicious years !

A moist, lemony cake with close tight crumbs. Do not skip the lemony frosting, it is good with the cake. Don't forget that pot of tea!

The recipe below is my measurement for half a recipe. I've used a small bundt pan with a 6-cup capacity. For the full recipe to make in a 10-inch Bundt pan, please refer here.

Lady Bird Lemon Bundt Cake
(adapted from "Cake Simple", Christie Matheson)
100gm butter, at room temperature, plus melted butter for greasing the pan
160gm cake flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
120gm sugar
4 egg yolks
90ml whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325F (165C/gas 3). Brush the inside of a 10-cup Bundt pan thoroughly with the melted butter and dust it lightly with flour. (Use a pastry brush to help distribute the flour and tap out any excess).

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are light and lemon-coloured, then add them to the butter-sugar mixture and beat until just blended.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three increments) alternately with the milk (in two increments), beginning and ending with the flour and beating until thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice, beat for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for about 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely. Pour the icing over the cooled cake and serve. The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. (The un-iced cake will keep, wrapped well in a layer of plastic and a layer of foil, in the freezer for up to 2 weeks).

Lemon Icing
1 cup (90gm) confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (28gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon heavy cream, plus more as needed

Combine the confectioners' sugar with the butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cream in a small bowl and stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth, thick, and pourable. Add more cream if needed to obtain the desired consistency.

If you would like to join Bake-Along's last bake, you may bake any Bundt Cake, leave a comment below and we shall mention the link to your post. Thank you!

Please visit the following links for more bundt cakes!

Veronica of Peng's Kitchen has made a lovely Rainbow Bundt Cake