I’m a pretty big fan of lemonade. Last year I finally nailed down a recipe for a delightful home-squeezed version, and I find lots of excuses to make it when it’s hot outside and all I want in this world is a glass of sweet, tart, cold, perfect summer beverage. Mmmmmmm.

I also love orange juice. After my recent trip to San Diego, I brought home five precious pounds of oranges and could think of no better use for them than to squeeze them into juice. So I did and it was perfect and glorious and I had no regrets except that I don’t have a citrus grove in my Colorado apartment complex. I would almost give up my life in Colorado to live in a place with orange trees. Almost.

Have you ever worked with blood oranges before They are just so… provocative. Their skin is thin and blushes slightly, but upon slicing one open, you are met with simply stunning color. They vary: some are flushed with just a bit of red, like an orange with a sunburn, some are bright pink, and some are so deeply purple you can hardly believe they are same species of fruit. On their own, these oranges make the most MAGNIFICENT juice. If you have a happen to have a blood orange tree, please tell me that you make lots of blood orange juice. Also please send me your address so that I can move in with you.

I digress.

Anyway, when I found myself with an abundance of both lemons and blood oranges, I wondered what would happen if I mixed their juices together. The result Pink lemonade orange juice!

The combination of the rich, velvety blood orange juice and the clean, tart lemonade is completely delightful. Suitable for ANY time of day and any day of the year.

Seriously, does anyone have a blood orange tree and a spare bedroom?

Blood Orange Lemonade
Adapted from Simply Recipes

1/2 c granulated sugar
3/4 c water
zest of one lemon
zest of one blood orange
1/2 c lemon juice (juice 3 lemons)
1/2 c blood orange juice (juice of 4-5 blood oranges)
2 c water (to dilute)

Combine sugar and 3/4 c water in a small pot. Scrub all fruits until clean, then pat dry. Zest one lemon and one blood orange and add the zest to the sugar and water. Stir the pot, then heat over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and mixture just begins to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

While the simple syrup cools, zest the remaining fruits if you’re planning to freeze the zest (they are much easier to zest before juicing). Juice the fruits and strain to remove all the seeds and if you wish, the pulp.

Combine lemon juice, blood orange juice, and simple syrup in a pitcher. Add 2 cups water to dilute. If you prefer your lemonade even thinner, add up to a cup more.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, then serve over ice.

There aren’t many things that can break me out of my water-all-time-time beverage habit, but the arrival of summer weather is one of them. And lemonade is usually first in line for my liquid-y cravings. Amazingly, though, I’d never made it from scratch until earlier this spring during the citrus extravaganza following my trip to California.

I can’t believe I waited so long.

Woe to the time I’ve wasted buying lemonade from the grocery. Woe to the powdery mix that’s walking around emulating this precious elixir. Using only a few lemons, you can make the most perfect, delightful lemonade with hardly any effort at all. Please do so as soon as possible.

A misconception I had about lemonade is the quantity of lemons needed. Perhaps from previous experiences making orange juice, which tastes great but takes FOREVER since you need pounds and pounds of oranges to put together even a quart of OJ. Lemonade, on the other hand, is an ade for a reason: let’s be honest, none of us wants to drink straight, undiluted lemon juice, so it takes only a few lemons to provide enough flavor for a half gallon or so of lemonade.

To start, make a simple syrup of sugar and water. I also add a couple lemons-worth of zest to give the final product an extra punch, but you can leave it out if you prefer a softer flavor. The simple syrup allows the sugar to dissolve completely so it doesn’t separate when your lemonade chills.

The simple syrup is then mixed with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and some additional water to dilute the mixture. You can drink it without diluting, but it’s going to be quite intense and sugary.

The final product is the quintessential lemonade: tart, cold, clean lemon flavor with a bit of sugar to elevate it to something more than I ever thought lemonade could be.

Now I could definitely drink the whole batch in one meal. But I want to experience this perfect lemonade whenever I want, so I opted to drink one glass and then make popsicles out of the rest. I had no idea how they would turn out, but this was one experiment that totally worked!

Now, wrapped in foil, I can have a little serving of sunshine whenever I like. Wanna make your own Here’s the popsicle-maker!

Basic, Perfect Lemonade + Lemonade Popsicles
Adapted from Simply Recipes

3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c water
zest of one lemon
1 c freshly-squeezed lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
2 c water (to dilute)

Combine sugar and 1 c water in a small pot. Scrub all five lemons until clean, then pat dry. Zest one lemon and add the zest to the sugar and water. Stir the pot, then heat over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and mixture just begins to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

While the simple syrup cools, zest the remaining lemons if you’re planning to freeze the zest (they are much easier to zest before juicing). Juice the lemons and strain to remove all the seeds and if you wish, the pulp.

Combine lemon juice and simple syrup in a pitcher. Add 2 cups water to dilute. If you prefer your lemonade even thinner, add up to a cup more.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, then serve over ice with slices of lemon if you like things pretty.

To Make Popsicles: Pour the lemonade into a popsicle mold and freeze solid. Remove from the mold and wrap pops individually in foil. Freeze until you’re ready for a refreshing summer snack.

And as any celebration should, this one features cake. A continuation of my citrus-y love affair, this is one of the most delightful cakes I’ve made in quite some time. Fluffy chiffon cake filled with bright lemon curd and Swiss meringue and iced with clouds of lemony whipped cream Let’s just say I highly recommend it for your spring and summer soirées.

The cake part of this cake is a chiffon cake, lightly lemony in flavor. It’s spongy and light, so it provides a nice base for the bold lemon curd and the meringue.

Plus, chiffon cake batter is, well, fun. There’s really no other word for it. After combining dry ingredients and wet ones, a HUGE amount of whipped egg whites are folded into the batter, making a springy, foamy fluff that hardly resembles cake batter.

And can one really talk about cake without a delightful icing This one is simple, just whipped cream with a bit of lemon mixed in. Because this lemon sunshine cake has lemon everywhere!

Finally, the meringue: originally, this recipe called for lemon curd alone as a filling. But since the delightful lemon curd recipe leaves a whole bunch of leftover egg whites unused, I couldn’t resist the temptation to add some Swiss meringue as a second layer of filling. I like using Swiss meringue because the egg whites are cooked, so it reduces weird food poisoning issues that can arise from eating eggs raw.

Between each layer of soft cake lies a generous mound of meringue and a smooth coating of lemon curd.

Once constructed, the whipped cream icing and a drizzle of extra lemon curd makes this presentation-ready!

Don’t be freaked out by all the components – the lemon curd can be made in advance, and the extra egg whites you’ll have from that can be used for the meringue, and the icing takes no time at all. This cake is the pinnacle of sunshine, and it’s worth the effort. It’s a nice break from the chocolate and vanilla cakes that I normally concoct – I look forward to the next time I find myself in the company of several lemons that are hoping for a promotion to lemon curd.

Lemon Meringue Sunshine Cake
Adapted from Cake Journal and Sweetapolita (and Sweetapolita again!)

Makes one 8-inch, three-layer cake

For the Lemon Filling
about 3/4 c lemon curd

If you’re preparing this from scratch (using the recipe linked to above), you can prepare this a day or two in advance. If you prepare it a day in advance, you can use the leftover egg whites from the curd recipe to make the meringue filling you’ll need for the cake.

For the Icing
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
3 T granulated sugar
1/4 c lemon curd

In a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to whip the heavy cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Add the lemon curd and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the cake.

For the Cake
6 eggs, separated
1/2 c vegetable oil
zest and juice of one lemon
3/4 c cold water
1 3/4 c cake flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c granulated sugar, divided
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, or grease the bottoms of the pans with pan coating.

Whisk together the egg yolks, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup of sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, use the whisk attachment to whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until light and foamy. With the mixer still on, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Add about a third of the whipped egg whites to the batter and mix. Fold in the remaining egg whites. The batter will be very light and fluffy. Divide the batter between the three prepared pans. Bake on a center rack for 18-20 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched with your finger. The tops of the cakes will be very lightly golden brown.

Remove the pans from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pan, then run a knife around the edges of the cake and remove them from the pans. Peel away the parchment paper and discard. Set the cakes aside while you prepare the filling.

For the Meringue Filling
2 egg whites
1/2 c sugar

Note: If you’re using leftover egg whites from the lemon curd recipe, you’ll have four egg whites. I went ahead and used all four egg whites and a full cup of sugar. I baked the leftover meringue into little cookies by piping them onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and baking at 200°F for 60 minutes, then reducing the temperature to 175°F  and baking for an additional 40 minutes.

Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add an inch of water in a small pot. Place the mixer bowl in the pot to ensure the water doesn’t touch the water. Heat the pot over medium-high heat with the bowl on top of it and a candy thermometer in the bowl. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 140°F. Remove the thermometer and use the whisk attachment on the standing mixer to beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and set aside.

Assembly
Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate. If the cake has caved at all, place the flat side down. Spread a generous layer of meringue on top of the cake, then spread a layer of lemon curd over the meringue (about half of what you have left). Add the second layer of cake, then spread with meringue and lemon curd as you did with the first layer. Place the final layer on top with the flat side up.

Spread the whipped cream icing over the entire cake in whatever pattern you desire. If you have any leftover lemon curd, add it to a piping bag and drizzle it over the cake edges or over the entire cake.

Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving to allow the cake to firm up. It will be much easier to cut when it is cold.

It only took a few minutes of consulting my favorite cookbooks and cookblogs to see the overwhelming consensus: lemon curd seemed to be square one for entry into the lemon-y baking world.

And to be honest, I had NO idea what lemon curd was. I couldn’t recall tasting it, though in hindsight I now realize that almost every lemon-y dessert I’d had probably used lemon curd as a base. Lemon curd, it turns out, is the happy marriage of lemons, sugar, butter, and eggs. Somewhere between the consistency of a jam and a pudding, curd can be made with any combination of citrus, though lemon seems to be the most popular.

Like most custards, it starts with eggs. This recipe only requires the yolks, but I urge you to re-purpose the whites elsewhere: fluffy omelettes, meringue, angel food cake, no sense in letting a good batch of egg whites go to waste.

Then the lemons: while lemon juice contributes quite a bit of bulk to the curd, the zest is the essential ingredient that takes this curd to a level of insane lemon happiness. I used a lot, a lot, of zest, and I’m so glad I did. It’s truly a magical addition.

To transform this mixture from a yellow slurry into a smooth and elegant topping, it cooks lightly over a bain marie. This can be easily accomplished with any heat-proof bowl and a small pot with a bit of simmering water.

After 10 or 15 minutes, the thin liquid will begin to thicken. My curd was fated to become a cake filling, so I let it thicken quite a lot, but depending on your needs it can be equally delightful a bit thinner. I waited until mine barely dripped off the spoon, and it continued to thicken in the fridge as it cooled.

This recipe makes about a pint of lemon curd, or about two cups. When you’re ready to cool the curd, make sure you press a sheet of plastic wrap over the top so that it doesn’t form a skin or crust as it cools.

Once the curd has cooled and thickened up in the fridge, it can be deliciously used in so many ways. Lemon curd also freezes rather well, so you don’t have to commit to using it all up in one batch. It’s a great way to preserve the bright, fresh spirit of lemons for future use in lemon-filled pastries, lemon cookies, lemon-y whipped cream, lemon-topped-toast…

Or, as a filling for cake. Just a thought. Recipe coming soon, promise!

Lemon Curd
Adapted from Sweetapolita and Alton Brown

Makes about 1 pint

juice and zest of 4 lemons
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
1 c granulated sugar
5 T unsalted butter, cut into small, evenly-sized cubes and chilled

Wash all lemons very well and pat dry. Remove zest using a Microplane or grater over a piece of waxed paper (don’t include the white rind, it’s quite bitter!) and set aside.

Add an inch of water to a small pot. Place a medium-sized stainless steel or glass bowl over the pot and ensure that the water won’t touch the bottom. Remove the bowl and heat the pot over medium while you juice the citrus.

Cut each lemon in half and juice, either by squeezing until all juice is removed or using a citrus reamer. Strain out pulp and seeds.

Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice in the bowl you fit over the pot earlier. Once the water in the pot is simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and place the bowl of egg mixture over the pot. Add the cubes of butter and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until butter is melted and curd has thickened. It is thick enough when it clings to the wooden spoon instead of dripping right off (it will still be liquid, though).

Remove from heat and strain through a mesh strainer into another bowl. Stir in the zest and pour curd into a pint jar. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.