Lemon Loaf

Aside from my own mother, there is one woman I look to most for recipes that are reliable, tasty, relatively easy and turn out every single time. That woman you may ask? Ina Garten. That Barefoot Contessa has somehow managed to produce recipes that turn out every time, without fail, and I have tried many, many, many of her recipes. There is no other chef, cook, caterer or food blogger out there that has had that much success being imitated in my kitchen. This is a recipe for Ina's lemon loaf, and I only tweaked it slightly, using Meyer lemons in place of the traditional variety.

What is a Meyer lemon you might ask? It's a cross between a lemon and an orange. It gives off the sweetest scent and the flavor is quintessentially lemon...more lemon perhaps than the lemon itself. Weird, huh? So when I see bags of these lemons in the store, I buy them up and then scramble to find enough recipes to use them. This one is perfect.


Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup Meyer lemon zest (6 to 8 large)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans with butter. Line the bottoms with parchment paper for easily removal. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups of granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about five minutes). 
3. Add the eggs one at a time and then the lemon zest.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
5. In a third bowl, combine the buttermilk, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and vanilla. 
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined, then add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture.
7. Repeat step 6 and then end with the last 1/3 of the flour mixture.
8. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.
9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until set.
10. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
11. Let the loaves sit for 10 minutes to cool and then remove to a wire rack.
12. Place parchment paper, wax paper or foil under the wire racks and drizzle the lemon/sugar mixture over the loaves until absorbed. Allow the loaves to cool completely and then slice.
13. Serve on its own or with fresh fruit (like raspberries or strawberries).

Note: this recipe is similar to the other lemon loaf I've made but uses buttermilk in place of the yogurt. The texture is completely different (this one is much more cake-like), but they're both delicious.