Is it just me, or did winter suddenly come this week? Like, no warning at all… one day it’s a comfortable 72-degrees-hmmm-how-nice-i-think-i’ll-wear-shorts-today kind of day, and the next, BAM! Coats. Gloves. Non-sandals (because really, there’s only two types of shoes in this world: sandals and non-sandals, didn’t you know?). It’s had me in a funk. I am in complete denial that my precious summer is pretty much over.
So, in accordance with the denial I’m feeling, I’m posting one last recipe that makes me feel like it’s still summer. Don’t worry, pretty soon I WILL jump on the pumpkin-recipes bandwagon and finally accept that summer is no more, but TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY. Name that movie.
This moist, refreshing cake has fresh lime in it, along with buttermilk for extra moistness, a lime glaze for extra lime-iness, and served with fresh raspberries, it’s absolutely perfect! I think I’ll take a slice out to the front porch with a glass of lemonade, and sit out there in defiant rebellion against the weather, with goosebumps all over me and all.
A couple of tips to make this cake truly taste like heaven:
When it says to “cream” the sugar & butter together, really cream it. To give you an idea, I made this in my Bosch and let the beaters run for a good 8-9 minutes. I know that sounds like a lot of time, but if you really want a light cake with a nice crumb, you need to allow the sugars to beat air into the butter. And creaming properly is what does this. So just trust me on that.
Another tip is that when you add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the creamed butter-sugar mixture, start with a little bit of the dry ingredients first, then a little buttermilk, continuing to alternate, and finally ending with the dry ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix at this point. This alternating preserves the tiny little air bubbles that we have so carefully added to our butter, thereby keeping it light and fluffy.
Here’s to our last days of summer! Soups and pumpkin-loaded recipes to come.
Anyone else out there in mourning?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 T. lime juice
- Zest of one lime
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 T. vinegar with enough milk added to make 1 cup)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Fresh raspberries for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, & lime zest.
Cream together butter & sugar for ~8 minutes, until light & fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, along with 1 T. lime juice.
Beginning with the flour mixture, add alternately with buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until just incorporated.
Pour batter into greased bundt pan.
Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.
Whisk together 2 T. lime juice with powdered sugar, and drizzle over cooled cake.
Serve with fresh raspberries.
