What comes to mind when you’re faced with a surplus of lemons?

Make lemonade, right?

Yes, that’s a good idea, but you can also make salad dressings, lemon curd, lemon meringue pie and lemon tart. Maybe a cake, scones and cookies flavored with lemon and lemon zest?

How about a squeeze of lemon in iced tea and over fried fish and seafood?

Meyer lemons are coming into season, a variety of lemon that is sweeter than the usual lemon found in supermarkets. Said to be a cross between a lemon and an orange, the Meyer lemon is prized for its fragrance and juiciness.

Especially nice is its rind, which, when finely grated, imparts a lively flavor to baked goods, sauces and dressings.

Meyer lemons are typically bright yellow in color, but Hawaii growers tend to pick them on the greenish side so that fruit flies don’t have a chance to attack the attractive fruit. Choose lemons that are heavy for their size, and keep them refrigerated. Look for Meyer lemons and other Hawaii-grown lemon varieties at farmers markets and supermarkets.

Try this delicious lemon-accented cake; the recipe is from the May 2012 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

YOGURT CAKE

1-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, mix sugar and lemon zest.  Add yogurt, oil, eggs and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Add dry ingredients and blend.

Pour into an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out dry. Cool and remove from pan.

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Hawaii food writer Joan Namkoong offers a weekly tidbit on fresh seasonal products, many of them locally grown.