Back in medical school, I had a lovely little herb garden on my patio, and one summer had a flourishing basil plant. I've never had that kind of luck with basil again, but that summer, we added basil to everything.
I found this intriguing recipe for a basil cake on one of my favorite Chinese food blogs, and I immediately made it for dessert. Andrew went nuts for it. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since lemon and basil are two of his favorite flavors, and this cake combines them in a light, bouncy, tangy package. We recently made this again and enjoyed it just as much.
Lemon Basil Cake
(Recipe from the Woks of Life)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 3/4 cup yogurt (we used whole-milk)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup finely chopped basil
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar has the texture of damp sand.
- Add the yogurt and lemon juice to the sugar and mix well.
- Add the oil, eggs, vanilla, and basil. Whisk until well-blended.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes for a 9-inch pan or 35-40 minutes for an 8-inch pan, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Prepare the glaze by mixing together to the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk until smooth. When cake is cool, drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve.
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