Eat This: Lemon Sour Cream Cake

I am crazy about lemons. In almost anything; freshly squeezed over a pork chop - a wedge served with my fried chicken .... anything.  Desserts are especially wonderful when they are really tart and sweet together.  This recipe was adapted from Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe at The Barefoot Contessa.  Love her. This is not too sweet, just tart enough to be awesome.  Enjoy.

"After"

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sour cream (Original used: plain whole-milk yogurt)
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

Grease and flour the pan. (Note: It is VERY important to do this. It guarantees a perfect result.)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated, but gently - do not over aerate the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean. 

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside. 

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. 
I used a skewer to put holes all over the cake before adding the lemon sugar mixture.

While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool. 

The last step is totally optional - I don't do it, but it makes the cake look nice... For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake