“When life gives you lemons, make a lemon cake!!”

I thoroughly enjoy baking. And cakes are my favourite. There are some flavours which are equally loved by everyone in the family. And lemon is one of those. All of them love the tanginess of lemons in baked goodies. Sometime back, I had posted the recipe of Lemon Drop Cookies – that also has a beautiful hint of the lemons and it disappears in no time.

I make this lemon cake as a bundt cake or as a loaf cake. If it is for an occasion, I make it in my bundt pan and drizzle the lemon glaze all over to make it look prettier. As a loaf cake, it’s perfect to eat anytime of the day.

Few things to keep in mind

• Lemon Zest: Make sure you clean the lemon thoroughly before grating for the zest. Take care to only take the outer skin for the zest and not use the white part beneath that. The white part could be bitter and alter the taste of the cake.
• Baking Time: The baking time is indicative. Set your timer 5-10 min less than what is mentioned in the recipe and check how the top of your cake looks. Only if the top looks done, open the oven and check with skewer for the doneness. Oven temperatures may not be calibrated correctly and there could be uneven heating also in your oven. So always keep an eye on how your baked product looks while it is baking.

Recipe

Ingredient List

For the cake

• Butter – 1/2 cup
• Castor Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Eggs – 2
• Lemon Zest – 1 tbsp
• Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp
• Flour – 1 ½ cups
• Baking Powder – 2 tsp
• Salt – a pinch
• Milk – 1/4 cup

For the syrup

• Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp
• Icing Sugar – 6 tbsp

For the glaze

• Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
• Icing Sugar – 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Step by Step Process

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Line and grease a loaf tin. You can also use and 8 inch bundt pan, in which case make sure you grease the pan well.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar till pale. Next add the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat together again.
3. Mix the baking powder and salt into the flour and fold it into the batter. Add the milk and mix again.
4. Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake for about 45 min till the top browns and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
5. While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Heat the lemon juice and icing sugar on low flame in a saucepan till the sugar has dissolved. Keep this aside.
6. Mix together the lemon juice and icing sugar for the glaze in a bowl till a smooth consistency is reached and keep it aside.
7. As soon as the cake is baked and comes out of the oven. Use a skewer and poke the cake all over. Pour the prepared syrup and let the cake remain in the tin till it cools down and absorbs all the syrup.
8. Finally, pour the glaze liberally over the cake and serve.