Brighten your Mardi Gras season with this rich and moist Lemon Bliss Bundt Cake. It feels like springtime, and tastes amazing under a layer of lemon glaze. Every piece is a surprise. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
The actual cake is adapted from King Arthur’s Lemon Bliss Cake recipe of the year. With Susan’s exceptional culinary skills, it was transformed into a spectacular Mardi Gras treat.
Ingredients for Mardi Gras Lemon Bliss Bundt Cake:
I used the following ingredients: Unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, all purpose flour, milk, lemon oil (I could have used lemon zest instead of lemon oil), lemons, and confectioners’ sugar. I used the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and yellow to color the cake batter, and for the sprinkles.
Making the Cake:
To make the cake, I pretty much followed the King Arthur directions. I started with creaming the sugar and butter. Then, I added the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Next, I added the salt and baking powder, and beat the mixture to combine. I alternated the addition of the flour and the milk, beating the batter until it was smooth. Finally, I added the lemon oil, and beat the mixture until the lemon oil was well combined.
Marbling the Mardi Gras Lemon Bliss Bundt Cake:
I knew that I wanted to incorporate the Mardi Gras colors into the cake, but didn’t have a clear picture in my mind as to how to do that. Susan not only knew how to do it, but also was masterful at it! First, I divided the batter into thirds by weight. I had about 48 ounces of batter, so each third was 16 ounces. Yes, I’m a geek when it comes to baking. I weigh everything! Next, I sprayed the bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.
Susan used ice cream scoops to scoop a layer of different colors of the batter into the bundt pan. Then, she used a butter knife to swirl or marble the colors together. She gave the pan a couple of taps on the counter to make sure that the batter was fully distributed.
Next, she formed a second layer of the batter, making sure that she added the different colors of the batter in the middle of where two colors of the first layer came together. Because she wanted a more subtle swirl, Susan used a tooth pick to marble the second layer. She repeated the process for the third and final layer.
I popped the cake into a preheated 350° F oven for about 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.
Finishing the Mardi Gras Lemon Bliss Bundt Cake:
After I took the cake out of the oven, I inverted it onto a wire cooking rack that I had set over a rimmed baking sheet. It came right out of the pan. While the cake was still hot, I brushed it all over with a simple lemon syrup that I made by heating together lemon juice and sugar.
I let the cake cool completely before I spooned on the lemon glaze which was confectioners’ sugar mixed with lemon juice. Finally, I sprinkled on some purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.
I thought to myself that if the cake looked as good on the inside as it did on the outside, it’ll be amazing.
I was actually blown away when I cut into the cake and saw the amazing designs that Susan had created. On top of that, the cake tasted incredible. Laissez les bon temps rouler! Yum!
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- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 teaspoon lemon oil may use lemon zest from 2 medium lemons in place of the lemon oil
- Purple green, and yellow gel food coloring.
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice I used 2 Tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- Purple green, and yellow sprinkles (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy and lightened in color.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once all the eggs have been added, and beat briefly to re-combine any residue.
- Add salt and baking powder; beat to combine.
- Add the flour to the batter in three parts alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until everything is well combined. Stir in the lemon oil or lemon zest.
- Divide the batter into thirds, roughly 16 ounces each. Color one purple, one green, and one yellow with gel food coloring.
- Thoroughly grease a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan, or spray with nonstick baking spray. Spoon a layer of purple, green, yellow, purple, green, and yellow batter into bottom of bundt pan. Carefully swirl with butter knife. Tap pan several times on counter to evenly distribute.
- Repeat the first layer, but beginning where the purple and green meet on the bottom layer. Swirl with a toothpick. Tap to evenly distribute. Repeat again for the third layer.
- Bake at 350° F for 50 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the simple lemon syrup by stirring together the lemon juice and sugar. Microwave for about a minute, or heat over a burner briefly, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and carefully run a knife between cake and pan all around the edge. Place the pan upside down on a cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. If the cake drops out of the pan onto the rack, remove the pan. If the cake doesn’t drop onto the rack, let it rest for 5 minutes, then carefully lift the pan off the cake. If the cake still feels like it's sticking, give it another 5 minutes upside down, then very gently shake the pan back and forth to loosen and remove it.
- Brush the lemon syrup all over the hot cake, both top and sides. Let it sink in, then brush on more syrup, continuing until all the lemon syrup is used up.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing and serving.
- To glaze the cake: Mix the confectioners' sugar and salt, then mix in 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, adding just enough additional juice to create a thick glaze, one that's just barely pourable. Drizzle glaze artfully over the completely cooled cake. Sprinkle with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles. Yield: One bundt cake.
- Store the cake, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.
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