Lemon Tea Cake With Citrus Glaze

Lemon tea cake makes a terrific treat to go with your favorite tea time this winter.  This cake is very lemony and moist from 3 lemons and 1 orange added to the batter.  My kids love to fight over who gets to powder sugar the lemon cake and who gets to brush the cake with the lemon glaze.  The inspiration for this cake is from Tamara Weiss's cookbook "Potluck at Midnight Farm".  Tamara states that this is the best cake to learn how to perfect the "art of shaving".  Shaving is taking small slivers of a cake when you are to full to have another piece or you are just evening up the sides of the cake with a small sliver.  I made several changes to this recipe to make it healthier but not loose any flavor.  First, I exchanged out the white flour for whole wheat pastry flour.  Whole wheat pastry flour still allows your cake be be light and fluffy but enables you to use a flour that is healthy for you.  I also reduced the saturated fat in half by substituting canola oil for half the butter and reduced the amount of buttermilk with none fat vanilla yogurt.  Finally, I tried to reduce the sugar in this recipe by using Blue Agave syrup.

Lemon Tea Cake:

Serves:  12
Pre-heat oven:  325 degrees

2 large lemons, zest, and finely diced
1 orange, zest, finely diced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour, like Red Mills
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup, one stick butter, room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Blue Agave or 3/4 cup additional sugar
5 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk, 1% fat
3/4 cup none-fat yogurt

1.  In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the oil, butter, sugar and blue agave together for 1 minute.  Add the eggs one at a time mixing on high with each additional egg.  Add the none fat yogurt, buttermilk, salt, baking soda, lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice and orange juice to the batter.  Then slowly add the flour mixing with each cup.  Make sure you scrape the bowl down to all the ingredients have been incorporated.

Zesting The Lemons And Orange

Lemon Tea Cake Batter

2.  Grease a 10 inch tube pan with cooking spray with flour.  Pour the batter into the tube pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cook on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges then invert the cake onto a parchment lined platter.

3.  Brush the hot cake all over with the citrus glaze.  When the cake has completely cooled sprinkle the cake with powder sugar.  Remove the parchment paper and serve the cake on a serving platter.

Glazing The Lemon Tea Cake With Pastry Brush

Citrus Glaze:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup Blue Agave

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, orange juice and sugar/Blue agave.  Make the glaze while the cake is cooking.  Stir the glaze several times while the cake is cooking.

Citrus Glaze

1/2 cup powder sugar for dusting the cake.

Lemon Tea Cake With Citrus Glaze