Fresh Lemon Cake

One of the best things about having family in the Southwest is the abundance of fresh citrus fruit in our own backyard - literally. My parents have lemons the size of navel oranges falling off the tree, so I - being altruistic - offered to make a lemon cake for Easter Sunday's dessert. This is a wonderful, light cake. I dusted it with powdered sugar, and served it with fresh raspberries.

Fresh Lemon Cake

3 c cake flour*

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

6 large eggs, room temperature, separated

2 c sugar, divided

1 c butter, softened

1 T finely grated lemon zest (from 2 medium lemons)

3 T fresh lemon juice (from 2 medium lemons)

1 c plain yogurt or sour cream

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 10" Bundt pan thoroughly with PAM. Sift together flour, soda & salt in a bowl. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 c sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Beat butter, remaining 1 1/2 c sugar, egg yolks, zest & juice in large bowl of electric mixer on medium-high speed until mixture is creamy and pale yellow, 3-5 minutes. Add flour mixture to yolk mixture in two parts, alternating with yogurt, mixing on low speed until combined. Gently fold in egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Sources say the cake improves in flavor as it ages, so make it a day or so ahead of time. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days, or freeze for up to one month.

*If you don't have cake flour, you may substitute all-purpose flour but be sure to use 2 Tablespoons less per cup