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The Preserved-Lemon Cake That Got Me A Job

Join Zaynab Issa as she makes a simple preserved-lemon tea cake in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, a recipe that put her on the path to joining the BA staff.

See the full recipe here: https://weightloss-tricks.today/recipe/preserved-lemon-tea-cake%3C/a%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cp data-testid="AboutDate" class="BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE AboutDate-inSEXx deqABF bXTGwe kvmUSw">Released on 07/19/2022

Transcript

[upbeat music]

Hey, it's Zaynab,

I'm an Associate Food Editor here at Bon Appetit.

Today, I'm in the test kitchen

making preserved lemon tea cake.

It's so simple to make and it's delicious any time of day.

It feels pretty full circle

that I'm making a video about this recipe,

it was actually a part of my job application to work here.

I had to pitch ideas for recipes and this was one of them.

There are lots of lemon cake recipes out there

but I wanted to try something a little different.

[oven beeping]

The first thing to do is to prep the preserved lemon.

By the way, using a scale when you're baking

is so important, it's just so much more accurate.

So I weigh out about 55 grams,

that's usually about one small preserved lemon.

They're often used in Moroccan cuisine

because they're quite salty

and usually used in savory preparations.

Don't worry, the cake won't be salty per se

but it won't be overwhelmingly sweet either.

I'm just removing the seeds from the lemon

to avoid any bitterness.

But the rest of the lemon, you can use, even the peel.

You can do this in a food processor or spice mill

but using a mortar and pestle is pretty cathartic

so I highly recommend

You don't typically find turmeric in desserts

because it's pretty earthy and assertive.

We're not using too much

and that earthiness is really gonna compliment

this sour preserve lemons.

And it's gonna give us this bright lemony yellow color

when you cut into it,

which is gonna be really visually striking.

This recipe uses a whole cup of sugar.

That might seem like a lot

but we need it to balance all the sourness from the lemon.

I really love baking with olive oil

because of the flavor it brings out

but you can definitely use melted butter

or another oil if you prefer.

I don't know what that red string. [laughing]

One of the advantages of using olive oil

as opposed to butter is that

it's not solid at room temperature

so your cake will stay moist on the counter for days.

This cake uses sour cream instead of milk.

It'll add moisture without thinning out the batter too much.

In a pinch, you can definitely use full fat Greek

or plain yogurt or even buttermilk instead.

The acid helps make this cake so tender.

There's a lot of lemon in this recipe

and each type brings something different.

The oils in the zest bring brightness.

The juice gives that classic lemon flavor

and the preserved lemon paste is gonna bring that funkiness.

All three together add so much depth to the finished cake.

Now we're gonna introduce the dry ingredients

and mix gently until they're just combined.

I'm going for a mostly smooth batter,

a few lumps are totally okay

and I can see a few small bits

of that preserved lemon paste as well.

At this point, you'll really be able to smell

all of that lemony flavor.

Once it's ready, I'm gonna put it on a wire rack

to hang out for a little,

just until it becomes cool enough to handle.

Then I'll take it out of the pan to finish cooling.

This is the moment of truth.

All of that work we did to grease the pan

and line it with parchment comes in handy now

so that we don't have any difficulty

removing the cake from the pan.

I always need tea or coffee when I have something sweet.

So I'm gonna start on a pot of chai to serve with the cake.

This isn't a traditional masala chai,

it's called karak chai

which translates to strong tea from Hindi.

I grew up seeing my mom make it

and so it's super nostalgic for me.

The vanilla isn't typical but it perfumes the kitchen

and makes everything smell great so I love to use it.

[chai bubbling]

Now I'm adding evaporated milk

which is basically concentrated milk

so it makes the tea super creamy and rich.

This is gonna simmer for a while

so I'm gonna keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over.

This is gonna go so well with that sour cake.

So while the tea simmers and the cake cools,

I'm gonna make a super simple glaze.

Just some powdered sugar and milk.

You definitely wanna make sure you do this

when the cake is cooled so that

your icing doesn't melt and thin out

and this way you'll be left

with an opaque blanket instead of a glazed sheen.

Just look at how gorgeous this cake is.

The glaze is thick but still pourable

and it just looks perfect.

It's gonna look even more amazing

when we cut into it thanks to that turmeric.

The last step is a little sprinkle of flaky salt

just to really bring home that preserved lemon flavor.

Then we're gonna let the glaze set for a little

and that's it.

And everything is ready.

So I'm gonna slice into it and pour some chai.

I can't wait to try this,

just look at that bright yellow interior

and the crumb looks perfect.

You would never know that there was turmeric in this cake

based on the taste but the color it's giving

is so bright and gorgeous.

It's preserved lemon.

[Rachel] Oh!

In the test kitchen we usually bring our finished dishes

up to this marble bench.

We take pictures of whatever we've made

and gather around to taste and talk about flavors

and also ask for suggestions

if we're in the development phase of a recipe.

Rachel was in the test kitchen today

so I asked her to come and try the cake

and she really loved it, which was so nice.

These recipes are super special to me

and they're both flavorful and pretty easy to make

so I hope you try them and thanks for watching.

[peaceful music]

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