With the abundance of Meyer Lemons this time of year, I thought that I would indulge in some more citrus to perk up January. The trick to this Tea Cake was to make small “dollops” of both lemon curd and raspberry jam by freezing them overnight. That means that the flavor drops stayed intact when I put them in the batter. Little pockets of goodness!
Ingredients
for the flavor drops
1/4 cup lemon curd
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
For the Cakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3 tablespoons meyer lemon zest (from about 6-8 lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
Directions
The day before you make the cakes, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop 1/2 teaspoon of the jam and the curd onto the parchment paper, spread out by approximately 1-2 inches. Stick the baking sheet in the freezer overnight. Keep frozen until mixing into the batter.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease bottom and sides of two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer still running, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the orange zest.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another small bowl, combine orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, at a few levels, add in the lemon curd and raspberry drops (they won’t be completely frozen). smooth the tops, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting and removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
