For Love of Lemons

I woke up early this morning with visions of yard sales dancing in my head. Not only would I go out and search  for buried treasures, but I would go alone (and therein lay the best part!)

It wasn't until I had already showered & dressed that I thought to investigate the weather, at which point I peered out a window (my favorite weather forecaster!) and saw that it was raining.

I considered going back to bed, but a new vision began dancing in my head...lemons!!!

A couple days ago I saw a recipe for Lemon Curd Coffee Cake in one of my cookbooks and it stuck in my head as something I wanted to try sometime. The recipe calls for lemon curd and I happened to have some that I made awhile ago just sitting in my fridge. The recipe also calls for lemon juice and lemon peel and I actually had a bag of fresh lemons sitting in my fridge,too!

Plus (and this is my favorite reason!) one of my friends sent me a lemon squeezer for my birthday and I couldn't wait to try it out!!!

I officially had enough reasons to stay out of bed on a rainy Saturday morning!

I made myself a cup of English Breakfast Tea and set to work.

The lemon press worked like a charm and it sure beat squeezing lemons by hand and getting all those seeds mixed in with the juice!!! Having a little zester for the lemon peel is a must, too, in my opinion... for there's nothing like fresh peel!

The cake gave off a wonderful aroma while it was baking and it made the whole kitchen feel warm & lemony. Talk about the perfect combination on an otherwise cold & dreary Saturday morning!

I was thrilled with how lemony the cake tasted as well as smelled! The coconut, which toasted nicely on top, was a tasty addition without being overpowering.

The recipe:

LEMON CURD COFFEE CAKE

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup flaked coconut
BATTER:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cold butter
2/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup lemon curd
GLAZE:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a small bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the coconut; set aside.
For the batter, in a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the vanilla yogurt, lemon juice, lemon peel, egg and egg yolk; stir into the crumb mixture just until moistened (batter will be stiff).
Spread 2 cups batter in a greased 9-in. springform pan; sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the coconut crumb mixture. Drop 1/2 teaspoonfuls of lemon curd over the top to within 1/2 in. of the edge. Carefully spoon the remaining batter over lemon curd; sprinkle with the remaining coconut mixture.
Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen; remove sides of pan. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm cake.
Yield: 12 servings

The alterations (non of them planned!)

1. I did not have any vanilla yogurt on hand, so I used plain, but I didn't have enough of that either, so I made up the difference with sour cream.
2. I poured in the amount of lemon juice called for in the batter, turned to do something else...and Gavin added a bit more.
3. I neglected to read the directions thoroughly and added the lemon curd to the batter instead of waiting to drop it by the teaspoonful in the pan between two layers of batter. This mistake was upsetting because I would have loved that lemon curd layer, but at least the cake was tender, and had a very nice lemon flavor, so I had to be satisfied knowing that the curd was in there!!!
4. I put more lemon juice in the glaze than the recipe called for. I don't know how much more, I just added juice until the glaze was the consistency I wanted for drizzling.

In case you don't have your own favorite recipe for lemon curd, here is the one I used. I was pleasantly surprised by how simple it was...and it keeps a long time in the fridge.

Lemon Curd

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup butter, cubed

In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk the eggs, sugar, juice and peel until blended. Add butter; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and coats back of a metal spoon. Transfer to a small bowl; cool for 10 minutes. Cover; refrigerate until chilled.

Lemon curd is a relatively new discovery of mine...and what a sweet one! When I first saw "curd" called for in recipes, I didn't even know what it was or where to find it in the grocery store! One particular recipe I wanted to try called for lime curd, but when I looked at Giant, I couldn't find it anywhere. I asked a store employee about it, but they didn't seem to know what I was talking about, couldn't find it either, and concluded that their store didn't carry it! I made the recipe without the lime curd, not knowing what I was missing!!! I have since found that the different flavors of curds are usually in the baking isle, near the pie fillings and such. Now that I have a recipe for making my own, the problem is solved and even though I've never tried lime, I am guessing that you could just substitute lime where it calls for lemon in the recipe.

At this point, you might want to run over to your fridge and see if you have some lemons sitting in there just waiting to be used.

If you don't have time to make some curd or this lovely cake, you might at least squeeze one into your glass of water or hold one in your hand long enough for some of that delightful scent to rub off on it.

Put a little sunshine in your day!

And let me know how you did it!!!