Step by step

Method

12 steps

1. 1

   In a medium bowl, whisk or sift 2 1/2 cups flour (leaving 2 tablespoons back), baking powder and salt together and set aside.

2. 2

   In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and impossibly fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Then, with the mixer on a low speed, add your eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition.

4. 4

   Beat in vanilla, briefly.

5. 5

   Add 1/3 flour mixture to batter, beating until just combined, followed by half the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk and remaining flour mixture.

6. 6

   Scrape down from time to time and don’t mix any more than you need to.

7. 7

   In the bowl where you’d mixed your dry ingredients, toss the berries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.

8. 8

   With a silicon spatula, gently fold the berries into the cake batter.

9. 9

   The batter will be very thick and this will seem impossible without squishing the berries a little, but just do your best and remember that squished berries do indeed make for a pretty batter.

10. 10

    Set cake pan on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, before inverting the cake onto a serving platter to cool the rest of the way. Cool completely.

11. 11

    Once cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth and very, very thick. (If you’d like it thinner, add more juice, but I like the thick drippiness of it, seen above.) Spread carefully over top of cake, letting it trickle down the sides when and where it wishes.

12. 12

    Serve at once or keep it covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.