How many times have you heard or felt like “I’m not a cake person, it’s too sweet.” or “It’s too rich and dense”? Well, if you or a person you know feels this way, I totally get it! There are so many cakes out there that give them a bad rep. I’m DARING YOU right now, if you know someone who doesn’t normally like cakes but you want to celebrate and make them a cool dessert, make this cake! I’m normally not this confident but this cake could really win you and someone else over and hopefully change their mind about cakes all together. A person like me could only hope.
This cake idea all started five or six years ago when Nick and I lived in Echo Park, a neighborhood in east Los Angeles. We lived in this wonderful Mediterranean style duplex with two lemon trees (one being a Meyer) and an abundance of rosemary on the property. One of the best parts of this place, other than all the fun things growing around it, was the wonderful neighbors. Since it was such a communal space we were all very sad when one of us would move from our compound. I don’t know who needs to hear this but yes, the rumors are true, when you live in LA you typically like to make friends as close as you can to your home or work because traffic is a huge B…..ummer.
Anyway, this wonderful couple whom we all adored was moving to a cute house in Highland Park. We were all very excited for them but sad to see them go. They loved throwing dinner parties for the neighbors so we thought it would be nice to have a little goodbye shindig. If you know me, you know I am typically the first one to say “I can make a dessert for the party.” Which obviously I did and ironically had made a totally different dessert for that evening. The morning of the goodbye get-together, I came downstairs to see that the ants had gotten to the dessert I had made for everyone. I knew I didn’t have time to go to the grocery store, plus bake before the party started. I didn’t have much in the house other than some pantry ingredients and the lemons and rosemary outside. “Welp here goes a sweet and salty cake recipe I thought of a couple years back but never tried”. I was kinda worried since I didn’t plan on workshopping this cake idea anytime soon, but I really wanted to bring a homemade treat. Especially to such warm and amazing folks.
What are the health benefits of Rosemary?
Rosemary is one powerful herb. Great for your skin, “a good source of iron, calcium and vitamins A, C, and B-6, rosemary has been used for its medicinal purposes for centuries.”1 It can help with chronic hormone imbalances and is a stress reliever. It’s also lovely for an altar or burning in a smudge stick.
What are the health benefits of Meyer Lemons?
Meyer lemons are an alkalizer and can help ‘wake up’ your metabolism. “It is an excellent source of vitamin C, which keeps our immunity in check. But they are also full of antioxidants that are believed to have a ton of health benefits which include protection against heart disease, cancer and the aging process in general. Add to it, Meyer lemons (and lemons in general) keep you cool, calm and collected while purifying your stomach.”2 It is also frequently used in pagan and Wiccan practices for many different incredible reasons.3
The best part of making this cake was actually a happy accident. When I finally got to the buttercream stage, I noticed I only had salted butter left. As a home baker, I had learned the de facto convention is to use unsalted butter. I was worried but also thought, “this might actually be better”. I used it in the mix and I crossed my fingers that it would taste good enough. After I finished mixing the salted rosemary buttercream together and tasted it, I literally yelled “YUUUSSSSS!” Anytime I’m baking and Nick hears my excitement, I can count to five and he’s literally standing behind me thumbing for samples. I made him try all the cake elements before I assembled it.. His eyes lit up and I knew with this first attempt I had achieved what I was hoping for. I just felt like I needed one more flavor. I started looking in the back of our pantry and found a tiny jar of Raw Hawaiian Honey that we got in Kauai last time we were there. I took the little extra piece of cake I had as a tester, drizzled on some honey and tasted it. Boom, that was it. Good timing because I only had 25 minutes to assemble the cake. The honey did exactly what I wanted, it tied the whole dessert together. I then quickly constructed the cake, drizzled honey with the end of a metal chop stick all over the tops and sides and placed rosemary atop of the cake like a crown. That’s always my go to design if I am in a rush.
I ran ten steps over to the party where everyone was already in attendance. Their faces when they saw the cake honestly made this last minute creation worth it. We enjoyed each other’s company as the time for dessert approached. Let’s just say everyone’s reaction towards this cake made my year. The glowing reviews compelled me to make it for friends and family, or people who have told me they don’t normally like cake (or dessert for that matter). It has been a hit every dang time. I’m not saying it will be 100% of the time. Some people don’t like those flavors, I get it, but the sweet and savory components are just so important. Balance is everything in desserts, and this cake does exactly that. I so hope you enjoy this wonderfully whimsical cake. It’s sure is one of my favorites!
Remember, bake with the intention that nature is love and love is food.
-Drew Johanna
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Meyer Lemon Cake w/ Salted Rosemary Buttercream & Honey Drizzle
Ingredients
Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- ½ cup + 2Tbsp (144g) + unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ¾ cup (275g) cake flour, sifted (or 2 ½ cup (287g) all-purpose flour + ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups (400g) granulated white sugar
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 Vanilla pod, scraped or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ Cup (55g) vegetable oil
- Zest of 1 large meyer lemon
- 1 ¼ Cup (281g) buttermilk
- Raw hawaiian honey (for drizzling)*
- More rosemary sprigs or candied meyer lemon for decoration (optional)
*If you can’t find raw Hawaiian honey, find a floral raw wildflower honey.
Meyer Lemon Curd
- Peeled zest of one meyer lemon, pith removed
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed meyer lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cup (250g) granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup (114g) salted butter (room temperature)
- 4 eggs
- pinch of kosher salt to taste (optional)
Salted Rosemary Buttercream
- 4–5 Sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 cup (227g) salted butter, cubed
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 1/4 cups (390g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tbs heavy cream, or whole milk
Instructions
For the Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- Spray a cooking oil onto two 9 inch springform pans or three 6 inch springform pans and line the bases with parchment paper. You can either trace the bottom of the springform pan and cut to size or use your already owned 6 or 9 inch cake parchment paper liner.
- Preheat oven to 350F (177C)
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the Butter and Sugar on high speed for 4-5 minutes until mixture becomes smooth.
- While that is mixing, sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl: Cake Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, and set aside.
- Once you have successfully creamed your butter and sugar, scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and turn mixer on low. Add Eggs, Vanilla, Vegetable Oil and Meyer Lemon Zest and mix until well incorporated.
- Scrape down bowl again. Slowly add dry ingredients and Buttermilk, alternating back and forth, ending with Flour mix. Mix until smooth, then turn off mixer.
- Pour an evenly distributed amount of cake batter into each springform pan.
- Set pans on your oven’s middle rack and let cook for 25-35 minutes (depending on your oven).
- Cakes are done when a toothpick comes out dry or they read 210F (99C) on an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven and place all pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
- Open springform pans and place cakes carefully back on cooling rack until room temperature, or whenever you are planning on constructing your cake.
For the Meyer Lemon Curd
- Set up a double boiler over medium heat, taking care that the top bowl does not touch the water below. Combine Sugar, Butter, Eggs, Meyer Lemon Zest, Meyer Lemon Juice, and optional pinch of Salt, then whisk together until the curd thickens and coats the back of a spoon (15-25 minutes)
- Once thickened, strain through a fine mesh sieve into a separate bowl to stop from cooking.
For The Salted Rosemary Buttercream
- Set fine mesh sieve into a metal stand mixer bowl and set aside. Melt cubed Butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add Rosemary Sprigs and bring to a bare simmer, stirring and swirling constantly (2-3 minutes). Take care not to brown the butter. Remove from heat and strain through fine mesh sieve.
- Allow to cool until butter is room temperature and solidified (1-2h). Place in fridge wrapped until ready or leave room temp if you are planning to construct the cake that day.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl and electric hand mixer), start to cream the butter then add the rest of the ingredients: Powder Sugar, Cream or Milk and Salt until smooth.
- Transfer some of the mixture to piping bag if you are ready to construct the cake.
Constructing the Cake
- On a cake stand or plate, put down a bit of buttercream for stability and then the first layer of cake.
- Pipe buttercream on top of the first layer of cake with your piping bag. Smooth buttercream out and pipe a thin circle around the outer edge of the cake Then pour the Meyer Lemon Curd in the middle of the circle with a big serving spoon and use the back of the spoon to evenly distribute.
- Repeat until the top layer, then cover your cake and pipe however you would like. Drizzle the honey on with a small spoon or honey dipper. All over the top and making it drip down the sides of the cake. The Honey in my opinion is a very important flavor enhancer and adds dimension. For decoration, add fresh rosemary sprigs or candied meyer lemon, or even edible flowers.
Notes
Don’t leave baked cakes out for more than 5 hours before frosting. Wrap it air tight and store it at room temp.
Curd can be refrigerated up to 1 week.
