sour squared

You'd think that the combination of a sourdough starter and lemons would lead to an extremely sour product. Ah, the power of sugar.



Yes, my friends, Eb has returned. I continue to be amazed by his versatility. His goal this time was a lemon cake. For the record, I (along with the babies in this hilarious, must-watch video) am not a huge fan of lemons, but the recipe I found was unique and interesting, so I gave it a shot.


(I felt the need to add blueberries simply because they make everything better, pair so well with lemon, and are extremely photogenic.)

I was a little bit hesitant to take that first bite of finished product, but my fears were unfounded. In fact, if I hadn't made it myself, I never would've known that a sourdough starter was involved. There was a bit of that telltale tanginess in the background, but nowhere near the amount I expected. Lemon was definitely the predominant flavor, but the overall effect was actually pleasantly sweet. And of course, the glaze didn't hurt.


I took most of the cake to work and it was devoured. You'd think these people never get fed. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to take issue with the fact that my co-workers have stopped thanking me for bringing in these goodies. A girl likes to feel appreciated! I'm sorry to say that I can be a bit of a spiteful person, so if I don't get some gratitude soon, I'll be forced to stop feeding them.


Sourdough Blueberry Lemon Cake
(based on this recipe)

Cake:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup water
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup blueberries

Lemon glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons water or milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch loaf pan or a mini loaf tray.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar and grated rind until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. In another small bowl, combine the lemon juice, water, and starter. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the lemon mixture, beating until fluffy. Coat blueberries with flour and fold into batter. Pour into the prepared pan and bake 1 hour, or until bread tests done (my mini loaves took about 40 minutes). Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

For the lemon glaze, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and enough water to make a creamy frosting and mix thoroughly.

Remove the bread from the pan and pour on the glaze.

I'm contributing this to YeastSpotting, a weekly feature of the wonderful blog Wild Yeast.