This is the best lemon tea cake I have ever had. Period. I swear. If you are a lemon lover- you will absolutely LOVE this cake. It might have something to do with all the sinful ingredients I’m sure. Plenty of butter, egg yolks and cream. The texture is similar to a pound cake but the crumb is a bit lighter. Why is it that everything bad tastes so good? The recipe is adapted from Miette Cookbook. Miette is a bakery located in the San Francisco Ferry Building and they sell these same lemon tea cakes there. I bought the cookbook a while back and this is the first recipe I’ve tried in the book. The original recipe calls for regular lemons; I had meyer lemons so that’s what I used. This recipe makes 4 small loaves or 2 standard size 8 inch loaves. It’s perfect to bring to a potluck or make the mini loaves and give them away as gifts. I think this would make a perfect gift for a new neighbor or as a house-warming gift. Wrap it in a pretty cellophane bag tied with a pretty yellow gingham ribbon and you’re all set.

Meyer Lemon Tea Cake

(yield: 4 mini loaves or 2 standard 8 inch loaves)

2 1/2 Cups (12 oz.) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 Cups (10.5 oz.) sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 Cup heavy cream;room temp

7 large egg yolks;room temp

2 large whole eggs;room temp

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 Tbsp. grated meyer lemon zest (or regular lemons) (about 3 lemons)

1 1/2 Cups (11 oz.) unsalted butter,cubed; then left at room temp

1/2 Cup lemon simple syrup*

*Lemon simple syrup:

1/4 cup (regular or meyer) lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1. Place the lemon juice, water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over hight heat until boiling. Let boil about 1 minute; long enough to dissolve all the sugar and then let cool before using. Set aside.

Lemon glaze:

2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp. corn syrup

1 1/2 Cups (7 oz.) sifted powdered sugar

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, corn syrup. Sprinkle in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, whisking to combine until glaze is thick and silky. You may not need all of the sugar. Set aside.

Make the cakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking pans with baking spray or line with parchment and then spray.

2. In a medium bowl, sift/whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a separate bowl whisk together the  cream, eggs, yolks, vanilla, and zest, set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients on medium speed for 30 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and mix for about 1 minute or until the mixture clings together on the paddle. Add half of the egg mixture and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the remaining egg mixture and beat just until combined; 1-2 minutes longer.

4. Divide the batter between the prepared pans; filling about 2/3 full. Bake until the tops are golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean; about 45 minutes for the mini loaves and 55 minutes for the larger loaves. Transfer to wire racks and immediately brush the tops with the lemon syrup. let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Run an offset spatula or knife around the edges of the pans, then invert the cakes onto the racks and let cool for about 20  minutes longer. Let the cakes cool completely and then glaze.

5. Serve right away or wrap the cakes tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temp until ready to serve.