A really good lemon cake should be soft, moist and tangy with a fresh lemon flavour. Generally, a fantastic cake should be able to stand on it’s own without any help from frosting. A frosting cannot disguise a bad cake and is a lovely companion to a good cake. In this instance the frosting does just that. It is an extension of the lovely lemon tang and a supporting act to a delicious lemon-crumbed cake.
Use the juiciest of lemons. This recipe calls for the rind as well as the juice.
This is one of those one-bowl-mix cakes. Add all ingredients to a bowl and using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy. Always stop beating when the cake batter is smooth and creamy. This process should take anything from 3-5 minutes depending on the power of the beaters.
Ingredients for Cake
- 250g butter
- 1 1/3 c caster sugar
- 2 c self-raising flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- zest of 2 lemons
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 c milk
Method to make cake
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Grease and line the bottom of 2 x 20cm or 23cm round pans. One large 23 or 25 cm round/square pan would also work.
- Measure out all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Beat with an electric beater until pale, smooth and creamy. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl well with a spatula.
- Divide batter equally into pan/pans if using more than one pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes if using 2 pans or 45-50 minutes if using one large pan.
- Cake is ready when golden brown in colour, well-risen and springy to the touch.
- Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before turning onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Lemon Buttercream
- 250g softened butter
- 3 c sifted icing sugar
- 3-5 TB lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Beat the butter until pale, light and fluffy.
- Scrape down sides of bowl so that all the butter is well mixed and aerated.
- Add the sifted icing sugar in 2 batches and beat well in between each addition.
- Add vanilla and lemon juice and continue to beat until the icing is smooth and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of bowl to make sure that all ingredients are well mixed. This is to ensure a smooth and luscious buttercream.
- If you wish, add 2 drops of lemon-yellow gel food colouring.
- Sandwich cake layers with buttercream and decorate the tops and sides of the cake with the rest.
