Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake

Preheat the oven to 350. Wipe the softened butter all around your 12-cup metal Bundt pan: you really want to work it into the crevices or anywhere the batter might have a tendency to stick (like the middle tube). When it's nicely greased, spoon in enough flour to coat and pat all around, tapping out any excess. This is an important step to be thorough with - apply butter in places where the flour doesn’t stick and dust with more flour. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, zest your lemons directly into the sugar (you can zest more than the recipe calls for if you like it extra puckery). Use a spatula to massage the zest into the sugar 

Now that you've zested the lemons, you can juice them. Mix together the fresh juice with the milk and vanilla. Set aside.

Add the eggs to the bowl of the stand mixer with the sugar and the zest and beat with the whisk attachment on medium speed until it looks thick, mousse-y, and a light sandy color, about 3 minutes. In a thin gradual stream, add the olive oil with the mixer on low. Pause when the mixture looks broken up and allow it to emulsify, and then add a little more, and so on. Take your time on this part. In the end, the mixture should look smooth, thick, and emulsified.

With the speed still on low, add 1/3rd of the dry ingredients, 1/2 of the milk mixture, 1/3rd dry, 1/2 milk, and finish with the dry. Don't overwork here; finish mixing with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl, and making sure it's evenly mixed.

Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add the lemon juice to a small saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil into ¼ cup measuring spoon and pour the oil into the lemon juice. This way, you’ll have a thin coating of oil in the ¼ cup, and when you measure the date syrup it will slip out without a mess. Pour date syrup into the pan and bring to a boil and then pull it off the heat. 

While the cake is still warm and in the pan, use a toothpick to poke holes all over the surface and brush it with some of the glaze. Then very carefully, use a paring knife to make sure the cake isn't sticking to the sides of the pan and flip it out onto a wire rack set over a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Poke more holes into the warm cake with a toothpick and pour the rest of the glaze over; any glaze that drips onto the cookie sheet, pour back on. Let the cake cool completely.