Catholic Recipe: Old-Fashioned St. Germain and Lemon Bundt Cake

"I adapted this recipe to a classic Old-Fashioned Lemon Glazed bundt cake recipe because it seemed to be a common theme that there have been many successes with the “traditional” 1-2-3-4 cake (1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs). I didn’t want to deviate too much to a solid, moist, and flavorful texture. I added 3/4ths of a cup of St. Germain to the actual cake, 1/2 cup to the glaze, made my own “buttermilk”, and I wouldn’t change a thing. This turned out beautifully. I was shocked, actually. The hint of floral notes paired phenomenally well with the lemon zest and juice, I really couldn’t imagine another “plain” lemon cake without it again. They’re the perfect pair and compliment each other so well." – The Baking Bird

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with oil or coat with butter.

Pour your milk into a small bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, and slightly whisk together with a fork. Set aside to curdle for several minutes. (You will add the St. Germain to this liquid mixture toward the end.)

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy and pale (1-2 minutes).

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Mix in the St. Germain to the milk and vinegar mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in 3 separate additions, alternating between the liqueur/milk mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold the batter until it looks well blended; don’t overmix. Fold in the lemon zest and juice.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth out the top with a spatula. Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake have begun to pull away from the pan.

Transfer the cake in the pan to a wire rack to let cool for at least 10 minutes. Now prepare the glaze.

For the glaze, heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Add in the sifted confectioners sugar, St. Germain, lemon zest and juice until a pourable glazey consistency is reached. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to thicken. (You may add additional sugar, Germain, zest or juice to taste if you prefer but that’s entirely up to you if you’re willing to experiment! Either way, you won’t go wrong.)

Invert cake onto your serving platter or cake stand and spoon the warm glaze over the cake. Although it tastes best the day it is made, it will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. Enjoy!