Inspiration Board: Winter Citrus

Today's board is all about winter citrus with a punchy pink and a slate grey mixed in for some delightful juxtaposition. I love the time of winter when there is a bright spot of citrus in our homes, kitchens and recipes and I wanted to translate that into a wedding. Punchy, citrus colors in winter can make sense with this 'winter citrus' theme. The spark for this board came when I saw this orange blossom invite by Hello Hailey in the latest design challenge on Minted, and I knew it would go perfectly with the meyer lemon cake picture that I've been saving in a file for almost four years, just waiting for the perfect board to use it in.

Credits: Clockwise from top left - dessert buffet by Coco and Fig photo by Amy Majors Photography via Style Me Pretty, citrus arrangement from Design*Sponge, DIY branches ceremony arch from Martha Stewart Weddings, citrus cocktail bar from Martha Stewart Weddings, meyer lemon cake from Domino Magazine, bouquet from Design*Sponge, lemon cordial favors from Wedding Style Guide, orange blossom invitation by Hello Hailey via Minted

And I had to leave you with the delicious recipe for that meyer lemon cake from my favorite magazine, Domino.

Meyer Lemon Cake

From Domino Magazine, January 2007:

"A Meyer lemon cake is like a spot of sunshine at the end of a meal. We call this incredibly moist, dense cake "Pucker." There's lemon in the batter, the glaze and, of course, on top, so it's super-tart. And it's great the next day for breakfast."

Ingredients

For the cake

8 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated
1¼ cups sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
2 cups cake flour
1¼ tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
For the glaze
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 and 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
For the candied Meyer lemon slices:
2 Meyer lemons
2 cups sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.

2. Melt butter in saucepan. Cool and set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks with 1 cup of the sugar until thick and light in color, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in buttermilk, Meyer lemon juice and zest.

4. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt.

5. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Then add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold half the flour mixture into egg-yolk mixture, followed by half the egg white mixture—so you don't deflate the batter. Repeat with remaining flour and egg white mixtures.

6. Take about 1 cup of the batter and stir it into melted butter. Gently fold butter mixture into the rest of the cake batter. Pour into a buttered and floured 9-inch cake pan or Bundt pan, and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes until cake is lightly brown and pulling slightly away from the edge of the pan.

7. While cake is baking, make glaze and candied Meyer lemon slices. For glaze, combine Meyer lemon juice and the confectioners' sugar in a saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Set aside. For the candied slices, cut Meyer lemons widthwise, in ¼ inch slices, and discard end pieces. Remove seeds. In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer five minutes. Add lemon slices and simmer about five more minutes, until fruit is soft but not falling apart. With a slotted spoon, remove slices and place on waxed or parchment paper.

8. When the cake is baked, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then invert onto a cooling rack. With a long toothpick, poke the top of the cake to make about two dozen small deep holes. Slowly spoon the warm glaze over the cake, allowing to sink in before adding more. Poke extra holes if needed, eventually using all the glaze. Arrange the candied lemon slices in a random pattern on top. Cool the cake completely and serve.