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oft, velvety and moist, lemon cake is a perfect sweet snack that will make your afternoon tea or coffee a memorable experience. It’s subtle lemon flavor comes from grated lemon zest, but, be careful with that! Use only non-treated lemons, and be sure to grate only the yellow part of the zest! The white part is pretty bitter, and you don’t want it in your lovely buttery cake! The extra lemon flavor comes from the glaze that you spread on the baked cake. The combination of lemon juice and powdered sugar gives tangy, intense lemon flavor, and it seals the cake and prevents it from drying. This cake is one of my favorites, not only because it tastes great, but also because it has one extra quality – you can keep it in the fridge for a week without a problem! Well, if it holds that long anyway…
This cake is made by creaming butter with sugar, followed by adding eggs, and then flour with baking powder and milk. Few tips: butter has to be soft, eggs should be at room temperature, and milk can be either cold or at room temperature, but make sure that it’s not hot, because the heat will activate baking powder immediatelly and that is not what we want! We want the oven’s heat to activate the baking powder. For more details, see my post about leavening agents.
I like to use mini loaf pan for baking lemon cake, although you could bake it in a regular loaf pan, round pan, or even in a silicone one. If your pan isn’t non-stick, you should grease it generously with butter and sprinkle some flour inside, or you can put parchment paper inside like I do. When your cake tester or toothpick comes out clean from the cake, it is ready for the glaze. And last tip, leave it to cool before eating, I know it isn’t easy, but it will be worth the wait!
Lemon Cake Recipe
by:Tereza Alabanda,The Pastry Maestra
PRINT PDF (EN) ISPIŠI PDF (HR)Prep. time : 30 minutes
Cook time : 30 minutes
Ready in 60 minutes
Level : Basic
Ingredients:- Butter 125g (4.4oz)
- Sugar 150g (5.3oz)
- Eggs 100g (3.5oz or 2 medium eggs)
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- All purpose flour 165g (5.8oz)
- Baking powder 3g (1⁄2Tsp)
- Milk 80g (3oz)
- Lemon juice 20g (4Tsp)
- Powdered sugar 110g (3.9oz)
- Line two 15cm x 7cm (6″ x 3″) mini loaf pans with parchment paper.
- Place softened butter, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture becomes uniform.
- Add eggs, one at a time and continue mixing until the mixture becomes smooth.
- Fold in sifted flour and baking powder with a silicone spatula, and add cold milk.
- Fill cake pans lined with parchment paper with the batter and run buttered knife through the center of the cakes.
- Bake them at 165ºC (330°F) for 30 minutes until golden brown. It may take longer in your oven, so check with a cake tester before you take them out. Insert your cake tester into the center of your cake; if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- While the cakes are baking, prepare the glaze. Mix lemon juice with sifted powdered sugar. Stir well, until you get white and thick, but spreadable paste. As soon as the cakes are done remove them from the pan, brush with the glaze generously and put back in the oven for 2 minutes.
- Take the cakes out and leave them to cool down.
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