Cake's pucker power from food friend

Is there any fruit a better friend to other foods than lemon?

She provides a pick-me-up when a dish is a little "down." She helps other foods look their best. She's refreshingly light when she needs to be and sassy enough to be interesting. Wears a wonderful perfume, too.

Lemons are believed to have originated in the Indus Valley during the Bronze Age (2500 to 1700 B.C.). They made a comparatively late appearance in European cookery but found an early agricultural home in the Mediterranean and Italy. Today, California is one of the world's leading producers and grows close to 90 percent of the U.S. crop.

A Goose Creek reader loves anything lemon, and asked for readers' favorite lemon cake recipes. So here goes.

Evelyn Misko of Charleston writes, "This recipe was a favorite of my mother's. I make it often for our family get-togethers. It's easy to make, delicious and great for potlucks and covered dish desserts."

Lemon Cake

1 box yellow cake mix, such as Duncan Hines (see cook's note)

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

1 small box lemon Jell-O; may use sugar-free

2/3 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Icing/Glaze (recipe follows)

Cook's note: Be sure to use yellow cake mix, not lemon cake mix.

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl. Stir, then blend with mixer at low speed about 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Butter and flour a bundt pan. Pour mixture into pan and bake 45-50 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cake set about 15-20 minutes, then remove from pan. Cool about 45 minutes before icing.

Icing/Glaze

1/2 pound powdered sugar, about 1 3/4 cups

Lemon juice (enough to make the powdered sugar thin enough to drizzle)

Mix sugar and lemon juice and pour over cake, letting it drip down the sides.

Harriet Little of Summerville shares a favorite. She says it was published in this newspaper years ago and credited to a Mrs. Dufour, who was a Citadel hostess.

Lemon Cake Top Pudding

4 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons grated lemon rind

3 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Beat egg whites stiff; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in yolks. Mix in remaining ingredients except almonds, then fold in egg whites. Pour into buttered 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Cover top with slivered almonds. Set in pan of hot water. Bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees, then 10 minutes at 350 degrees until brown. Serve warm or cool.

Barbara St. John of Mount Pleasant offers a cake of many servings:

Lemon Sheet Cake

30-35 servings

For cake:

1 (18 1/4-ounce) package lemon cake mix

4 eggs

1 can (15 3/4-ounce) lemon pie filling

For topping:

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To make cake: In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix and eggs until well blended. Fold in pie filling.

Spread into a greased 15x10x1-inch or a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

To make topping: Beat cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Spread over cake. Store in refrigerator.

Here's a contribution from Linda Slack of Mount Pleasant.

Lemon Bread

For bread:

6 tablespoons margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup chopped nuts

For glaze:

1/3 cup sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Grease a 8 1/2x4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pan.

For bread: Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Blend dry ingredients and add to mix alternately with milk. Add vanilla, lemon zest and nuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

For glaze: Combine sugar and lemon juice. Spoon over bread as it cools in pan; puncture the loaf to let the juice drip in. Do not add all at once. Let it soak in slowly.

It's not a cake recipe, but Eloise Gatch of Walterboro offers a favorite pie recipe. She got it from the cornstarch box and says it's delicious.

Lemon Meringue Pie

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

3 egg yolks, beaten

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon margarine

3 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

1 graham cracker crust

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add water. Stir until it is smooth. Stir in egg yolks. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly until thick. Stir in lemon juice and margarine. Continue to stir until thick. Pour into graham cracker crust.

Beat egg whites along with sugar until they peak. Spread over pie filling to the edges of crust. Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes or until brown.

Humble pie

A couple of readers got in touch regarding the Shepherd's Pie of last week. Both were extremely nice but they do have a quibble -- technically, shepherd's pie in the United Kingdom is made with lamb, not beef. When beef is used, it's called Cottage Pie.

Denise LeCroy wrote, "My husband is English and the Shepherd's Pie versus Cottage Pie confusion here in the States is one of those little foodie things that can sometimes annoy people who are from the U.K. and who know the difference. Sort of like my obsession about the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea! Thanks for listening!"

Who's got the recipe?

Those homemade tearoom desserts always create a buzz:

--"I had a wonderful lunch at the St. Philip's Tea Room on Church Street," writes Marian Mentavlos of Charleston. "For dessert I had the coconut cake, which was the best coconut cake I have ever had. The coconut was in the cake, not in the icing, and the cake was extremely moist -- almost like it had pudding in it. It was delicious. The icing was a cream cheese icing. Is there any way you can help me to find that recipe?"

--From Bennie H. Ordel of Walterboro, "Last week I attended the St. Philip's Tea Room. They served pie made from macadamia nuts with a caramel filling. It was delicious. Do you think it is possible that someone might share this recipe? This is one of those desserts that you dream about at night."

--A reader is looking for a recipe that was published years ago in The Post and Courier, but nothing turned up readily here in a search of the archives. "The base was a yellow cake mix with lime juice and possibly sour cream added. The finish was a glaze made with lime juice, sugar, etc. It was a delicious cake and sadly I have lost my clipping from the paper."

Looking for a recipe or have one to share? Reach Teresa Taylor at 937-4886 or food@postandcourier.com.