Mom's Citrus Buttermilk Cake — Baked With Buttermilk, Love, and Crooked Toothpick Lettering

Travis proposed to Jolene on Saturday. Her birthday, just like he planned. He took her to dinner at a restaurant in Lexington — a nice one, the kind with cloth napkins and a wine list, which for a Hensley is like visiting a foreign embassy — and he asked her at the table with a ring that he bought with money he'd been saving for six months. She said yes. She said yes before he finished the question, which Travis reported to me with the bewildered delight of a man who expected resistance and got surrender.

Connie knew. Connie has known for a month because Travis asked her advice on the ring, which was the smart move because Travis's taste in jewelry is limited to "shiny" and Connie's taste is "specific." The ring is a diamond, modest but good, and it sits on Jolene's finger like it was always there, which is how the right ring looks — not like an addition but like something that was missing and has been found.

I shook Travis's hand. I hugged Jolene. I said "Welcome to the family" even though she's been family since the dishes, since the watermelon, since the coleslaw at the fish fry. The ceremony changes the label but not the substance. Jolene has been a Hensley in practice for two years. Now she'll be one on paper.

To celebrate, I made a cake. Not a wedding cake — an engagement cake. A simple butter cake with chocolate frosting, because Travis loves chocolate and Jolene loves butter and between them they have all the major food groups covered. Butter cake: cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Alternate adding flour (with baking powder and salt) and buttermilk. Pour into two round pans. Bake at 350 for twenty-five minutes. Cool. Frost with a simple chocolate buttercream: butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla. Beat until smooth.

I wrote "Congratulations Travis & Jolene" on top with a toothpick and some white icing from a tube because I don't have cake-decorating skills and the toothpick letters looked like they were written during an earthquake. Travis said "That says 'Congrats Travis and Joking?'" I said "It says Jolene." He said "Sure it does." Jolene said "I love it." That's why she's family. She loves the things we do badly because she loves the people who do them.

The butter cake I threw together Saturday was more instinct than recipe — I’ve made it enough times that my hands know the order of things without asking my brain. But when the kids finished it down to crumbs and asked for the recipe, I realized I’d never actually written it down. The version I’m sharing here is Mom’s Citrus Buttermilk Cake, which is close enough to what I made that it counts: buttermilk batter, a tender crumb, and enough sweetness to hold up to whatever frosting you bring to it. Travis and Jolene deserve a cake worth keeping the recipe for.

Mom’s Citrus Buttermilk Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
• 1 tbsp fresh orange zest
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
• For the glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tbsp fresh citrus juice (lemon and orange combined), plus more as needed
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan, or two 9-inch round cake pans if you’re feeling ambitious. Set aside.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Don’t rush this step — the air you build here is what makes the crumb tender.
4. Add eggs and flavoring. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and orange zest until combined.
5. Alternate wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk (starting and ending with flour). Add the lemon juice and orange juice with the last buttermilk addition. Mix just until combined — do not overmix.
6. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is lightly golden. If using round pans, check at 28 minutes.
7. Cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
8. Make the glaze. Whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, combined citrus juice, and pinch of salt until smooth. The glaze should be thick but pourable — add more juice a teaspoon at a time if needed.
9. Glaze and serve. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and let it set for 10 minutes before slicing. Write congratulations on top with a toothpick if the mood strikes. Results may vary.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 318 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 218mg