Sunshine in your mouth--and on your table!
1 stick unsalted butter (113g)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (100g)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large unwaxed lemons, ends trimmed, then halved, seeded, and sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (313g)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 cup olive oil (236ml)
1 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt (227g)
1 cup sugar (200g)
- Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in an 8-inch silicone square cake pan in the microwave. Remove the pan and add 1/2 cup of the sugar, 1/2t ginger powder and 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and thickened a little. Smooth into an even layer to cover the bottom. Place the cake pan in the freezer until the butter and sugar layer freezes; leave the pan in the freezer until you are ready to transfer the batter to the pan.
- In a small bowl, gently toss the lemon slices with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Leave the lemon slices in the sugar to macerate for 10 minutes.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining ginger powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the eggs with the olive oil in another large bowl and beat vigorously with a whisk until well combined. Add the yogurt and sugar. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet mixture in three additions, folding in each addition until no dry bits of flour remain. Set aside.
- Fan the lemon slices out to cover the melted butter and sugar in the cake pan, overlapping the slices by as much as 1/8 inch. Put some slices on the sides of the pan. Pour the cake batter directly on top of the lemon slices.
- Put the cake pan on a baking sheet (it does bubble over, and it's easier to clean a baking sheet than your oven) and bake for about 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and carefully lift off the cake pan. Allow the cake to cool for 1 hour more before serving.
This cake can be made with nearly any citrus, my favorite being meyer lemon because I like it to be a little tart. The only citrus I would not use is raw grapefruit, oro blanco, or lime. The rinds of grapefruit and oro blanco are much thicker than lemons and oranges and they will take longer to bake. Lime and grapefruit also retain too much of the bitter quinine flavor and will make for an odd-tasting cake.
