Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake: The hunt for simplicity

I've been away from blogging, mostly because I have found my mind too boggled, to bogged down, and too befuddled to write.  Or at least to write well what I wanted most to say.  And it wasn't until recent weeks that I found that what I really want is simplicity.  A simple life, without complications, with a straightforward end goal and a simple way of living.

Easier said than done.  But I'm striving for it.  The best piece of advice I found which sums up most what I am trying to live comes from the Cornell Legacy Project , where the wisest (most usually the oldest) Americans are offering their viewpoints and insights after having lived a long life.  There was one quote that really struck me that I'm trying to adopt, in order to simplify my life  and it is this one: "I learned to be grateful for what I have, and no longer bemoan what I don’t have or can’t do." (a 90 year old daughter of divorced parents, who lived a very hard life.)

I am going to be grateful for what I have and not think about what I don't.  I'm going to be happy where I am instead of hunting for what I think I want.  I'm going to enjoy my children and love them for who they are right now, instead of focusing so much on what I think they should be or what I want them to become.  And I will love Husband just as the man he is (as difficult, tortured, and adorable as he is) instead of hoping that he changes.  I am happy with what I have, and I'm not thinking about what I don't.

This cake comes about as a result of that, as I was in the mood for cake, but didn't have my normal ingredients for a regular bundt cake.  I did a bunch of substitutions and streamlining to come up with a simply lemon buttermilk cake.  The result?  Yummy, and enjoyed by neighbors and many around me.  I have to say - I appreciated what was right in front of me at the moment, and didn't think about any other bundt cake I wasn't having.

Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Makes 10-inch bundt cake, serving 12 to 14

Cake
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Glaze
Ingredients
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Method
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla extract. At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk. (Add a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour.)

Scoop batter into pan and spread with spatula.

Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack. Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet.

After cake has COMPLETELY cooled, make glaze. Combine lemon juice and sugar in a bowl and mix together until smooth. Pour over completely cooled bundt cake and allow glaze to drip off. Allow glaze to set before cutting.

Printable recipe

My bundt pan


A book which shares the wisest advice from the Cornell Legacy Project