Lemon Basil Bundt Cake

Lemon Basil Bundt Cake
Closely adapted from Cake Simple, Christie Matheson

For the cake:

• 180 g (1 1/2 cups) AP flour minus 1 T potato flour
• 1 T potato flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 cup low fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
• 200 g (1 cup) sugar
• 3 large eggs
• zest of 2 lemons (save them for the juice!)
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)

For the Lemon-Basil Syrup:

• 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
• 2 T water
• 6 T fresh lemon juice
• zest peeled in strips from 1/2 of a lemon
• 2 large basil leaves

For the Lemon-Basil Glaze:

• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 T chopped basil leaves
• 2 T lemon juice, to taste
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, to taste (the more sugar you use, the sweeter and more opaque it will be)
• pinch of salt

For the Lemon-Basil Sugar:
50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
1/2 t lemon zest
2 large basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour–or use a spray like Baker’s Joy–a 6 cup bundt pan.  Set aside.

Place the tablespoon of potato flour into the measuring cup or bowl for the AP flour. Top off with AP flour.  Place it in a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder and salt.  Whisk thoroughly. Set aside.

Using a whisk attachment in a mixer, beat the yogurt, sour cream and sugar on medium speed until well combined.  Add the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla.  Beat again until well combined.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low (still with the whisk attachment) just until combined.  Gently mix the oil in by hand.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cake is golden and pulling away from the sides, and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack placed above foil or wax paper.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup and sugar. To make the syrup, bring the ingredients to a gentle boil over medium heat in a small saucepan (non reactive).  Let boil for 10 minutes.  Strain the syrup–this syrup you want to brush all over the cake after removing it from the pan, when it is still warm.

While the cake is baking, you can also make the sugar.  Place the sugar, lemon zest and basil leaves in a small food processor.  Process until you have a fragrant green sugar with no clumps of basil.  Set aside.

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze: Place the cream and basil in a small nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat.  Scald the cream but do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. Strain the cream into a medium sized bowl and then add the salt, lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar.  Whisk smooth, and then taste for either more lemon juice or more sugar. On the one hand, the more sugar you use, the more opaque and therefore attractive the glaze will be. However to some tastes–for example mine-it can also get too sweet, so I often sacrifice appearance and reduce the sugar.

When the cake is cool, drizzle the cake generously with the glaze.  Let the glaze partially set and then sprinkle with the sugar and serve.