After a long absence, I’m back to baking with the incredible bakers baking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking with Dorie. It’s nice to start with a simple loaf cake. Or is it so simple? Little tweaks elevate this loaf, making it more complex than one would have thought at first bite.

Rather than simply calling for grated lemon zest, Dorie suggests you remove the zest with a vegetable peeler and finely chop the zest. After peeling away the pith, each lemon segment is cut away and placed between paper towels to reduce the moisture while the rest of the recipe is prepared.

Dry ingredients whisked: flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and baking soda. The zest is worked into the sugar with your fingertips and so is the sumac.

Plain yogurt (I used whole fat Greek yogurt) goes in, mixed in with a rubber spatula. Three eggs are beaten in, one at a time, then the vanilla.

The flour mixture is added in two additions. Melted butter and canola oil mix in to make a shiny batter. The lemon wedges, having been finely chopped, go in last.

I like to use baker’s spray instead of butter to grease pans, but today the spray came out very thick and foamy. I usually wipe the pan down when this happens, but was in a hurry today, so I left it. I could see the spray bubble up the side of the pan to the top of the batter as I poured the batter in. Oh well, into the oven it goes!

I pulled the pan out after 55 minutes (checking for doneness at 50.) The result of the excess baker’s spray was evident: a crusty ridge had formed around the top of the cake.

But how will it taste?

Looks aren’t everything and the crusty ridge gave the cake added crunch, which I liked. The cornmeal adds chewiness and the chunks of lemon, chopped lemon zest and sumac give the cake a pleasant tartness. Lots of complexity with each bite, both of flavor and texture. Not such a simple loaf!