I partially made up a cake recipe (I made cupcakes) to celebrae the end of summer and served them at a special small gathering. Lemon brightens up any occasion! And if you include a touch of saffron, the floral notes will tickle the back of your tongue for sure!

I used my mom’s basic butter batter, but substitued 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice as part of the liquid measure. I deleted the vanilla and substituted a pinch of saffron rehydrated in 1 T hot water. I also added the zest of 2 lemons to the batter.

For the frosting, I used a basic butter cream icing recipe and substituted lemon juice for the milk. I also added 2 drops of yellow food coloring and a pinch of salt.

1. Preheat oven to 352.  Grease and flour either three eight inch round cake pans, two nine inch round cake pans, or about 30 cupcakes. Use yellow cupcake liners instead of greasing the cupcake pans.

2. Cream together sugar and eggs till light in color and fluffy, about five minutes. Scrape the bowl occasionally. 

3. On low speed, mix in the measured dry and wet ingredients alternately.

4. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. Check cupcakes at 20-25 minutes. 

4. Cool completely and ice with lemon frosting. For layered cakes, remove from pans after 15 minutes onto cooling racks.

For me, lemon and saffron are a marriage made in heaven. What two flavors blend well for your taste?