Lovely Lemony Ladycakes

Warning: Spoilers everywhere!
"Lemon cakes are my favorite."
Season 3, Episode 2: Dark Wings, Dark Words 
Season 4, Episode 5: First of His Name

Oh Sansa, you sweet summer child. Lemon cakes are just one of many exotic things Sansa falls in love with during her time in the south, and definitely the only thing from King's Landing that was actually sweet. Google 'Sansa lemon cakes' and a bazillion different recipes pop up. Cupcakes, tea cakes, cocktails, topped with candied lemon, topped with icing, topped with curd - it's probably the most popular recipe idea for Game of Thrones. There is even an 'official' Sansa's Lemon Cakes recipe, commissioned by HBO. Friends, this is not that recipe.

When I think of lemon cake, I have a memory of an intense triple meyer lemon cake from Martha Stewart magazine from the early 2000s, but try as I might, I could not hunt down this specific recipe anywhere on the internets. A tender lemon buttermilk cake is soaked with lemon simple syrup while still warm, and drizzled with a sharp lemon icing. Because I love Meyer lemons like Sansa loves lemon cakes, I may have tripled (or more) the amount of lemon zest, and piled lemon zest into the soaking syrup. Overkill perhaps, but when life gives you Meyer lemons...

I have cobbled a few favorite recipes together for this ultimate lemon cake. A yogurt lemon cake from our favorite Deb Perlman - her version, studded with blueberries is a trusted go-to cake for me, and the beautiful candied lemon topped cake idea comes from Rosanna Pansino's lemon cakes. But in keeping with the memory of my favorite lemon cake, the candied lemon syrup is drizzled onto the still warm cakes making it, well, a little extra...

I used Meyer lemons here, a cross between an orange and lemon, which have a thin tender rind and a sweet floral perfume. It is also a winter lemon, reaching the height of its season in December and January in California, so winter lemon cakes for Sansa seemed the perfect fit. But if you don't have Meyers, use regular lemons instead - these cakes will still be super delicious and worthy of appreciation by all the fancy ladies at your next garden party.

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Lovely Lemony Ladycakes
adapted from Deb Perlman

For the Candied Lemon:

• 3/4 cup water, plus juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 to 3 Meyer lemons

1. Slice Meyer lemons into 12 thin circles, about 1/4 inch.
2. In a sauce pot, simmer water and sugar. Place the lemon slices in the pot and gently simmer for 3 minutes, being careful to keep the lemons from breaking or dissolving.
   
3. Gently remove the slices from the syrup and place on greased parchment paper. Let cool. Reserve lemon syrup.
4. Place lemon slices at the bottom of greased cupcake tin. If the lemon slices are too large, make a slit from the center of slice to the edge and tuck one end under the other until it fits. 

For the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) 
• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (230 grams) plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 cup plus (215 grams) sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice​

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1. Pre heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, about 2/3 full and bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center comes out clean.
3. Remove from the oven, place a parchment lined baking sheet over the cupcakes and while holding baking sheet and cupcake pan together, flip over to loosen the cupcakes. If the cupcakes stick, tap the pans until they come loose. 
   
4. Brush lemon syrup generously over the tops of the cakes. 
5. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes and serve.