Lady Bird Johnson
Famous Lemon Cake

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine (room temperature)
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Lemon Icing

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine (room temperature)
• Grated rind of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons cream (or more, until spreading consistency)
• Yellow food coloring, if desired

Instructions

Cake

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until light and lemon-colored; blend into creamed mixture.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; resift 3 times. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Beat the batter thoroughly after each addition.
3. Add vanilla extract, lemon rind and lemon juice; beat 2 minutes.
4. Bake in greased 10 inch Bundt pan in preheated oven at 325 degrees F for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. You can also can use three 9 inch round cake pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
5. Double the icing recipe for a layer cake.

Lemon Icing

1. Combine ingredients and beat, adding cream until desired consistency.