Well, duh, of course you do. Produce, no matter how much you conscientiously eat, has a habit of slinking to the back of the refrigerator drawer and promptly becoming slime. And as the slime gets worse, most of us pretend it’s not there and instead focus on the bright, new fruits and veggies near the front.

Or maybe I’m just a wasteful slob. If so, tell me now. No, don’t. I don’t like painful truth. It’s much more fun to live in a world where your actions don’t result in veggie slime.

About two weeks ago, I bought a bag of Meyer lemons at a gourmet grocery store that makes Whole Foods (a.k.a. “Whole Paycheck”) look like a Safeway. I used them to accent fish and chicken, to garnish and add flavor to my tea, and most important, to make these show-stopping Meyer Lemon Pie Bars. But at the end of the day, I had two little lemons left over.

You know what they say: use it or lose it. So I used them to make this crumb cake. It’s lemon, and there’s actually zest in both the cake and in the crumb topping. The result is a tangy yet sweet happy place. The cake is light as a feather, and the crumb is plentiful, as crumb should always be.

In fact, while this cake can be eaten whenever, it screams breakfast. I do the sweet thing in the mornings, so if y’all are with me, this cake is the ticket. And if not, well, it works just as well when you get the munchies at three in the afternoon. I’m actually in both camps here. Sugar all day!

Lemony desserts are where it’s at right now. Nothing helps beat the winter blues more than bright citrus. And when there’s crumb with little yellow flecks of zest to be eaten, you know it’s the best!

When I finally did try a homemade pound cake, I was bowled over by the butter notes, so striking and so, well, buttery. Having not grown up with butter (a different story for another time), I took to pound cake like a new mom to caffeine. It was just so amazing, and I was a sucker for the duality of the tightly-packed crumb with the butter undertones.

My life got even better when I discovered almond pound cake, which is now a birthday staple in my house. You add some almond extract to the batter, and voila! Amazingness. It’s so rich and I could eat five slices in a row. I have, in fact, which is what got me into some major tummyache territory on my last birthday. Worth it!

Because it’s spring, this is a lemon pound cake with just a gentle drizzle of lemon glaze. It’s not overly tart or tangy, but exudes a much subtler lemon finish. It’s perfect to have with some iced tea while sitting on a porch, swinging back and forth in a warm breeze. Or, if you’re a real person like me, you can scarf it in a closet so the kids won’t see. Either way. Whatever works for you!

I used this awesome silicone cake mold, and the end result is beautiful, though your cake slices might look a little spiky when you cut it up. Just tell everyone it’s a themed Game of Thrones pound cake! Spikes! Yeah!

It doesn’t matter in the end. What does matter is how, toward the bottom, this cake’s texture changes ever so slightly. The top is nicely browned, the middle is dense, and the bottom has an almost syrupy finish. It’s what happens when the glaze goes to the already softer bottom and saturates the cake ever so slightly. It’s the best part of the slice.

The other important thing about this cake is the ease of baking it. Most pound cakes require a mixer to cream butter and sugar. Not this one! You can melt the butter in the microwave and mix everything in. So easy! If you’ve never made pound cake, let this be your first. It’s perfect and simple. I’ve said it before: we’re all busy. Why would I ask you to do something terribly hard?

You can also add some variations, depending on your tastes and baking prowess. Lemon zest, in either the cake or glaze (or both)? Go for it! Powdered sugar dusting instead of glaze? Why not?

Enjoy impressing people with this pound cake, so appropriate for the warm weather. It will give you a moment in the sun, I promise!

Cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk (I used two-percent)

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a loaf pan or a small bundt or tube pan with cooking spray.

Combine the melted butter and sugar, stirring until smooth. Add the eggs and lemon juice, and mix again. Add the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated. Finally, add the milk and mix until the batter is without lumps.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top is golden. The baking time will vary depending on your choice of pan. A loaf pan will need more baking time than a tube pan.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely.

While the cake cools, prepare the glaze. Mix the lemon juice into the powdered sugar until a glaze forms. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow to set.

Cut into slices and serve. Store covered at room temperature for up to one week!

I still remember my first slice of key lime pie. It was quite a special moment. My husband and I were dating and we went on vacation to Florida, and in a restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, I had my first slice. I think that moment was perfection. And I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since. This particular tart, though not a key lime pie, manages to bring back that happy feeling effortlessly.

Initially, I meant for this to be purely a lemon tart. But then (yay for happy accidents!) I ran out of lemons, so I improvised by combining lemon and key lime juice. It worked out beautifully, adding even more dimension to the tart citrusy flavor. And talk about summery! I decided to add the word “sunshine” to the tart’s name because it really is like a burst of warm, breezy air after a long, dark winter.

Before I start complaining about the weather again, let’s focus on this tart. The graham cracker crust is made with brown sugar and melted white chocolate. I happened to have some white chocolate chips hanging out on my counter, so I took about half a cup, melted them along with the butter for the crust, and the result was a solid and much more addictive base for the tart filling.

If I’d been really fancy, I probably would’ve zested key limes along with the lemon for the filling. But since the key lime was kind of not on purpose, the lemon worked fine. It added all the necessary tartness and brightened up the color. Yellow is my favorite color. Reminds me of everything happy! As does my microplane zester. I could go on about my zester all day, but I’ll spare you. Suffice it to say that it’s one of my favorite kitchen tools, ever.

If you’d like to make this as a pie, go for it. I just wanted to feel a bit fancier, and the tart pans that have removable bottoms are so easy to work with. If you don’t have one, it’s a great investment.

I’m going to go grab a frosted margarita right now along with a slice of this and pretend I’m back in Florida again. A gal can dream!

Crust:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a tart pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and white chocolate. Stir until smooth. Mix in the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar until the crumbs are moist. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared tart pan, being sure that you pack the crust tightly with your fingers.

Bake the crust for 5-10 minutes until set.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Combine the zest, lemon juice, key lime juice, and egg yolks. Stir in the condensed milk and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 15-20 minutes until set.

Allow the tart to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to serve, slice into wedges!