Glazed Buttermilk Bundt Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Earlier this week we had a buttermilk sky. It had been years since I had seen one and it reminded me of a debate my parents had regarding the name of the curdled cloud formation that my mother, an easterner, insisted should be called a mackerel sky. I prefer to use its more lyrical name, so, for today anyway, we're going to call it a buttermilk sky. If you close your eyes quite tightly and have an active imagination, the myriad clouds might just resemble the curds that can be found in buttermilk. Buttermilk, by the way, gets its name from the way it is produced. It is the liquid that is left over from churning butter, so it is actually relatively low in fat and will curdle naturally, or be given an assist with the addition of a bacteria that will cause it to curdle. While I can never bring myself to drink it, I use a lot of buttermilk in my cooking and baking and there is almost always a quart of it in my refrigerator. I love the slightly tart flavor that it imparts to food and it makes for remarkably tender baked goods. I'm always on the lookout for new recipes that use it and when I found the one for this wonderful cake in Food and Wine magazine, I knew I had to give it a try. I was so pleased with the results that I wanted to share the recipe with you tonight. I do hope you'll give it a try and treat your family and friends to this delicious cake. Here is how it's made.

Glazed Buttermilk Bundt Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:
Cake
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour + flour for dusting pan
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 sticks room temperature unsalted butter + butter for greasing pan
3/4 cup room temperature vegetable shortening
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup room temperature buttermilk
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of fine salt

Directions:
1) To make cake: Preheat oven to 
325 degrees F. Generously butter a 10-inch Bundt pan and dust with flour.
    In a medium bowl, whisk flour with the salt 
and baking soda. 

    In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with shortening at medium-high speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and 
beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
   At medium speed, beat in eggs one at a time until just incorporated, then beat in vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl.
   Beat in dry ingredients and buttermilk in 3 alternating batches, starting and ending with e dry ingredients. At low speed, beat in lemon juice. Scrape batter into the prepared 
Bundt pan and use a spatula to smooth 
the surface.
   Bake in the middle of oven 
for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking, until 
a toothpick inserted in center of the 
cake comes out clean. Let cake cool on 
a rack for 30 minutes, then turn it out on 
a platter or cake stand to cool completely.

2) To make glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with 
the lemon zest, lemon juice, butter and 
salt until smooth. Drizzle glaze over
the top of the cake, letting it drip down 
the sides. Let stand for 20 minutes 
until glaze is set. Cut cake into wedges and serve. 
Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

Cook's Note: The glazed cake can be stored in an airtight container for up 
to 3 days.


                    

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