Light Lemon Bundt Cake

Yay!!! I'm happy that I've found a good lemon cake recipe!

Yay!!! that this lemon cake is the less damaging kind to our waists, thighs and hips...

Yay!!! again that this lemon cake is heavenly moist, tangy and nice!

Having said that, I like to clarify the fact that this LIGHT lemon cake (recipe by The America's Test Kitchen) is not entirely fat-free or sugar free. According to this recipe, this huge bundt cake with lemon syrup contains 60ml of oil and 60g of butter. It also contains 280g sugar which is an reduced amount according to our preference. If it serves up to sixteen portions as mentioned, this means each slice of cake contains approximately 7.5g of added fat and 18g added sugar. Nevertheless, it is named as the lighter version comparing to its classic full fat version which contains 270g of butter.

For an ultimate lemony flavour, I like to enjoy this cake with a light and tangy lemon syrup instead of the light lemon glaze recommended by this recipe... Glad that I did that as this is the kind of lemon cake that I'm after! *simile*

Light Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Syrup Drizzle

Whisking the egg yolk-butter-oil-milk mixture

The meringue gives the cake a light and moist texture.

Not to forget the most important ingredient, LEMONS!!!

I can't wait to taste a slice of this aromatic cake!

Beautiful cake!!! Happy to see this when I flipped the cake out of the pan :)

I prefer this than the recommended light lemon glaze...

Heavenly moist, tangy and nice!

Here's the recipe from the book, The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.
(with my notes and modification in blue)

Serves 16

For the cake:
Nonstick baking spray with flour
3 cups (12 ounces) cake flour
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
(I reduced the amount to a total of 250g of sugar, 150g raw caster sugar and 100g white caster sugar)
1/4 cup grated fresh lemon zest (from 1-2 lemons)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
(replaced with baking powder)
1 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup vegetable oil
(I used rice bran oil)
4 tbsp (or 60g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 large egg whites
a pinch cream of tartar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

For light lemon glaze:
(I didn't serve the cake with this glaze and served it with light lemon syrup instead)
1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar
5 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated fresh lemon zest
lemon zest
pinch of salt

My light lemon syrup:

30g confectioners' sugar/icing sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp grated fresh lemon zest
1 gelatin sheet or 4g of gelatin dissolved in a small amount of warm water

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (or 160°C fan forced). Spray the inside of a 12-cup Bundt pan with the nonstick baking spray.

Whisk the flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar (I used 150g raw caster sugar), zest, salt, baking powder, and baking soda (I didn't add this) together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, egg yolks, oil, butter, and vanilla together.

In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 min. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip the whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually whip in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar (about 100g), about 1 min. Continue to whip the whites until they are shiny and form stiff peaks, 1 to 3 mins.

Whisk the milk mixture and the lemon juice into the flour mixture until smooth. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter with a large rubber spatula until combined, smearing any stubborn pockets of egg white against the side of the bowl.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center conies out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 mins (I baked mine for 40 mins), rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 mins, then flip it out onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely, about 2 hours. When cool, drizzle with the glaze, if using, and let the glaze set before serving, about 15 mins.

Whisk all of the lemon glaze ingredient together in a medium bowl until smooth and drizzle on the cake before serve. For my lemon syrup, combine sugar, lemon juice and zest together. Just before adding the gelatin, soak the gelatin sheet in water for 1-2 mins and squeeze out the excess water. Cook the syrup in microwave with low heat until all sugar and gelatin dissolve well in the mixture.Allow syrup to cool to room temperature before serve.

Happy Baking
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