• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Encharted Cook logo
  • Recipes
  • Charts
  • The Dish
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Charts
  • The Dish
  • About
  • Subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Charts
  • The Dish
  • About
  • Subscribe
×

Home » Recipes » Desserts & Treats Recipes

Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake

Published: Mar 18, 2019 by Jan Nunes

Skip to Recipe Pin It Now!
Side view of a loaf cake with rosemary in the foreground and a lemon in the backround. Pinterest Pin #1.
Side view of a yellow loaf cake dusted with powdered sugar. Pinterest Pin #2

Looking for a cake that doesn’t need frosting? Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake is sweet but not too sweet. This delicious cake has soft herbal notes from rosemary paired with orange-like Meyer lemons that will remind you of long, wonderful summer days.

Portrait view of Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake Sliced and Dusted with Powdered Sugar.

There are those cakes you make for major celebrations. You know the ones I mean? Covered in decadent frosting or filled with ganache and custard fillings, they are so beautiful and so sinfully delicious.

Jump to:
  • About this Recipe
  • But what if you don’t have any Meyer lemons?
  • Related Posts
  • 📖 Recipe

But sometimes you want a piece of cake, and just cake, as a mid-day treat or to top off a wonderful day and you don’t need a major showstopper. You want simple. You want sweet, buttery cake.

My Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake came from that exact desire for a simple cake that can hold you captive without having any frosting, icing, or glaze. The flavor of this cake is both unique and special because the lemon-orange flavor of the Meyer lemon is absolutely delicious when paired with rosemary.

About this Recipe

This recipe is based on both of my basic recipes for a butter cake and a pound cake. But, as I was developing this recipe, I realized this cake needed to be sweeter than most recipes. The standard amounts of sugar from either recipe, just wasn’t enough to balance the citrus and herb flavors.

Nearly, all of the ingredients can be found on hand. Only the rosemary, which is fresh and not dried, and the Meyer lemons are a special buy from the nearest grocer or farmer's market. I was so very happy to find an abundance of Meyer lemons at a nearby grocery store. But, then, I do live in a state known for its citrus!

Sprigs of Rosemary in a Glass Container and Meyer Lemons Scattered on a White Washed Rustic Table

But what if you don’t have any Meyer lemons?

♥ Meyer lemons are a cross between a citron fruit and a mandarin orange.
♥ They are smaller than a Eureka lemon and have a less acidic, smooth orange-lemon flavor.
♥ You can substitute a 50/50 blend of orange and lemon zests and juices.

This cake starts simple and ends simple. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, rosemary, Meyer lemon zest, and juice. Beat in flour sifted with baking powder and salt. Then spread the thick silky batter into a prepared loaf pan and… Bake!

All that’s left to do is let it cool and dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar! Oh wait! Actually, the last thing to do is... Eat It!

Close View of Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake. A small vase of rosemary is in the background.

Related Posts

  • Lazy Daisy Cake
  • Basic Cake Recipes Chart
  • Banana Nut Bread
  • Salted Toffee Blondies
  • Poppy Seed Angel Food Cake
  • Biscoff Fruit Cake

📖 Recipe

Rich and tender yellow loaf cake with meyer lemon and rosemary flavors is sliced and dusted with powdered sugar.

Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake

4.75 from 8 votes
Encharted Cook | Jan Nunes
Looking for a cake that doesn’t need frosting? Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Loaf Cake is sweet but not too sweet. It’s soft herbal notes from rosemary paired with orange-like Meyer lemons will remind you of the long, wonderful summer days.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 15 mins
Total Time 1 hr 30 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 Servings
Calories 320 kcal

Ingredients
 

Cake

  • 1 ¾ Cups All Purpose Flour
  • ¾ Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt
  • ⅔ Cup Butter, Softened
  • 2 ⅓ Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 4 Teaspoons Fresh Rosemary, Finely Snipped or Chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons Meyer Lemon Zest
  • 3 Tablespoons Meyer Lemon Juice

Garnish

  • 1 Tablespoon Powdered Sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Grease and flour a 25 cm x 11 cm loaf pan (9 ⅘ in x 4 ⅓ in). If using a dark metal pan, reduce oven temperature to 325°F/163°C.
  • Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of parchment paper and set aside for later.
    1 ¾ Cups All Purpose Flour, ¾ Teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ Teaspoon Salt
  • In a large mixing bowl beat softened butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
    ⅔ Cup Butter, 2 ⅓ Cups Powdered Sugar
  • Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at at time.
    3 Large Eggs
  • Add snipped rosemary, Meyer lemon zest, and Meyer lemon juice and continue to beat until all is well incorporated.
    4 Teaspoons Fresh Rosemary, 3 Tablespoons Meyer Lemon Zest, 3 Tablespoons Meyer Lemon Juice
  • Beat in half of the sifted flour mixture.  Add remaining flour mixture and continue to beat just until batter is smooth.
  • Spread batter into the prepared pan.
  • Bake 60 to 75 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched and cake tester comes out clean.  Do not open oven until at least 55 minutes has passed.  Cake may fall if temperature is not even during the bake.
  • Remove from oven and place cake on a rack to cool.
  • When cool, plate and dust with powdered sugar.  For beautiful slices cake should be thoroughly cooled before cutting.  Wrap any leftover cake in plastic wrap to retain freshness.
    1 Tablespoon Powdered Sugar

Video

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 90mg | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1.3mg

All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.

centered image

More Desserts & Treats Recipes

  • Vanilla Sugar Cookies
  • Butter Pecan Rum Cake
  • Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread
  • Famous Pumpkin Pie
  • Share
  • Twitter
  • Email

Reader Interactions

♥ — add a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hello and Welcome to Encharted Cook!

I'm Jan and I love to cook for friends and family. Over the years I have learned that many recipes are related and if you learn to make one delicious dish and you can make many more. So come join me as I chart recipes and ingredients and share my favorite dishes.

More about Jan →

♥ Featured Web Story

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup Story

♥ All-Time Reader Favs

  • Coconut Rum Sunrise Cocktail
  • Everything Chaffle
  • Easy Ground Beef Enchiladas
  • Maple Beam and Cream Cocktail
  • Pizza Eggs
  • Red Wine Sauce with Berries

♥ Featured Chart

  • How to Make Crumb and Streusel Toppings

♥ Follow Me on Feedly!

follow us in feedly

Footer

↑ back to top

More About Encharted Cook

Privacy Policy
Copyright Notice
Contact Me

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • RSS Feed

COPYRIGHT © 2018 - 2023 ENCHARTED COOK, JAN NUNES