Baked Lemon Lemon Loaf: "Mails Beautifully"

I was pretty young when Steel Magnolias came out. I remember that I wasn't allowed to watch it, but my mom and her sisters used up a box of Kleenex while they were watching it one day. I decided right then and there that I didn't want anything to do with a movie that made you cry. Furthermore, for the life of me, I couldn't understand how they could love a movie that made them cry. Fastforward: I went to college and one of my best friends loved Steel Magnolias. She used to watch it all of the time, and if I happened to go over to her dorm room, then I watched it, too. We didn't really go through boxes and boxes of Kleenex because, you know what? That movie is pretty hilarious in certain parts. If you've seen the movie, then you remember when Annelle is bringing food over, and she's completely stressing out because she wanted to make something from the "Freezes Beautifully" section of her cookbook. I thought about that as I made this Lemon Lemon Loaf from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

You see, the preface to this recipe states that this loaf "freezes beautifully," and it's a good thing, too, because this recipe makes 2 loaves. The authors advise that you make one for now and freeze another loaf for later. I don't like lemon desserts at all, but I've made this before to give away, and it always gets rave reviews. We're approaching a very citrus-y time of year; I had a bag of lemons to use, so I made 2 loaves of this bread. One got shipped to my mom and dad, the other to my grandfather. They all love lemon, and they all RAVED about this cake!

Check your staples before you start to make the cake: it calls for 8 eggs, and for some reason, I'm always caught off guard by this. The cake itself is easy enough to make. The recipe calls to make it in a food processor, as I don't have that trusty appliance, I make it in the blender with a bowl next to me in case I need to blend in batches (you'll have to do this if you're making the full recipe). I also tend to make a double recipe of the lemon syrup that's used to soak the cake. Most people I know really like to taste the tartness of the lemon in their baked goods, the extra soaking is helpful, I think.

For shipping purposes, I made this cake through the syrup application, then I let it cool, wrapped it in a layer of freezer paper (or you could use waxed paper or nonstick foil) and then a layer of foil. I took the loaf out of the freezer the night before I mailed it, and then the next morning I glazed it with the powdered sugar lemon mixture. When this is dry, I wrap the cake back up, first in a layer of freezer paper (I like this because it folds nice and neatly, and it's very sturdy around the cake) and then a layer of foil. When I mail baked goods, I find that the key to successful arrival is to make sure that they don't move or jiggle in the box at all. I loathe (!!) styrofoam peanuts on so many different levels, so I use shredded paper, newpaper, or brown paper to pack the goodies into the boxes. I find that any crumpled up paper product provides a nice insulation for baked goods -- just make sure that you use enough, and that it's on all sides of your baked goods (including the bottom).

If you're planning to mail holiday goodies to friends and family this year, I highly recommend this cake (recipe here: Baked Lemon Lemon Loaf). It's a pound cake and it ages well (huge plus when shipping because you can go the 3-day priority rather than the overnight route). It's sturdy, and everyone I talked to has reported that it's delicious and arrived in good form. And, of course, it "freezes beautifully", so you can make it now, freeze it, and then take it out to mail it when you've got the rest of your goodies ready to go.