Lemon Cake

A fresh, soft butter cake with the bright flavour of lemon and a thin layer of glossy lemon icing. Ideal with coffee or tea.

Serves: 1 cake (approx. 25 cm), 8–10 slices
Preparation: approx. 15 minutes
Baking: approx. 45–55 minutes
Total time: approx. 1 hour 20 minutes (including cooling and icing)

Ingredients

For 1 cake (approx. 25 cm), 8–10 slices

For the cake

• 200 g self-raising flour
• 175 g caster sugar
• 175 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 eggs (M), at room temperature
• Zest of 1 organic lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

For the lemon icing

• 100 g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (approx., to taste)

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 175 °C (conventional).
• Line a 25 cm loaf tin with baking paper, or grease well and lightly dust with flour.
• Finely zest the lemon (yellow part only) and squeeze the juice.
• Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature.

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light
   Put the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric (hand) mixer for a few minutes until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time
   Add the eggs one at a time. Beat each time until the egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.
3. Mix the lemon zest and lemon juice into the batter
   Briefly mix the lemon zest and 2 tbsp lemon juice into the batter.
4. Fold the flour and salt into the batter
   Sift the self-raising flour with the pinch of salt into the bowl. Gently fold the flour into the batter so it stays airy and no dry patches remain.
5. Fill the tin and bake the cake
   Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 45–55 minutes until golden and cooked through.
6. Check the cake is baked
   Start checking from 45 minutes: insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, the cake is done.
7. Let the cake cool
   Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then turn the cake out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.
8. Make the lemon icing
   Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add 1½ tbsp lemon juice and stir until you have a thick, pourable icing. If the icing is too thick, add extra lemon juice drop by drop. If it is too thin, add a little more icing sugar.
9. Finish the cake and serve
   Pour the icing over the completely cooled cake and let it gently run over the top. Leave the icing to set for 15–20 minutes for a nice shine and a thin, lightly crisp layer. Slice the cake into 8–10 slices and serve. The cake often tastes even better the next day. Store it covered at room temperature. If you want to keep it longer, freeze the cake without icing; you can add fresh icing later.