Rustic Lemon Cake

One of my most favorite lemon recipes (besides the Extra Tart Lemon Bar Recipe I posted previously), is this Rustic Lemon Cake made with cornmeal.  The cornmeal gives the cake a slightly "rougher" texture, which goes nicely with the sugary glaze.

You can make these in small individual mini-bundt pans, or just use one large 12-cup (standard sized) bundt pan.  Make sure you grease and flour the pan generously, so that it turns out of the pan smoothly.

Rustic Lemon Cake:
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 c.)
1 3/4 c. sugar
zest of 3-4 lemons
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 eggs
1 c. plain non-fat yogurt

Lemon glaze:
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 c. sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a bundt pan.  (I used a mini-bundt pan and a 9-inch round cake pan instead today.)

2.  Sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3.  Cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Gradually beat in each egg, 1 egg at a time.

4.  Add the yogurt to the butter mixture.

5.  Working in 3 batches, add the flour, mixing on low speed until combined.

6.  Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, and smooth down with a rubber spatula.

7.  Bake for approximately 1 hour, until done.  If using a mini-bundt pan & a 9-inch round cake pan (instead of the standard bundt), bake 25-30 minutes until done.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

8.  To make the lemon glaze, mix sugar into the lemon juice.  The sugar crystals will not fully dissolve.

9.  Drizzle lemon glaze onto the hot cake with a spoon, a little at a time.  Serve when the cake has cooled to room temperature.