Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

Calling this a "coffee cake" is misleading to me and it sets misleading expectations.  I'm no connoisseur of coffee cake, but to me it should have cinnamon swirls and brown sugar.  This is more like a really moist, lemony breakfast cake.  Awesome, but not a classic coffee cake.

Last week I was reading through some food blogs online when I stumbled across a blogger who featured Meyer Lemon recipes.  I'd never heard of them before and figured it was a northern thing.  Then on Monday I found Meyer Lemons at H.E.B.!  What a coincidence.  Of course I can't find that same blog I was looking at last week, but I did find a couple of Meyer Lemon recipes that I wanted to try. 

From what I read, Meyer Lemons are a cross between an orange and a lemon. They aren't as tart as regular lemons, and from what I noticed, the peel is thinner and softer.  More like a clementine cutie.  I tasted the lemon juice and it was a little milder than regular lemon juice.

An unrelated cooking tip:  When I put the kids down to bed last night and got ready to make this coffee cake, I realized I had forgotten to take my butter out to soften.  This happens to me ALL THE TIME.  I used a tip I discovered online awhile back and cut it into tablespoons to soften faster.  It works!  I've been doing this for months!  If you didn't already know about this...you're welcome. :)

Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tbsp Meyer lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup buttermilk

Streusel

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp Meyer lemon zest

pinch salt

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and lemon zest.  Stir in one third of the flour mixture, followed by the lemon juice. Stir in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk. Stir in remaining flour mixture, mixing only until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan.

To make the streusel:  In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt. Add in melted butter and lemon juice and stir with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Source:  Baking Bites