Lemon Cake is a childhood favorite of mine. In Greek cuisine, lemon is used abundantly. We put it in everything. I love lemons so much, I actually eat them raw. And lemons have huge health benefits! They help with digestion and weight loss, are great for the skin, and they hydrate and cleanse the body. But I primarily drink lemon juice because I just love it!
I also think that desserts made with lemons are absolutely delicious. Because lemon sort of balances out the sweetness and gives the dessert a freshness. For example, lemon tart (or Tarte au Citron as my French friends would say :)) has a light texture that leaves you with a fresh taste, especially after a meaty meal.
So, I decided to make Lemon Cake. My 2 year old James loves it also. And it’s wonderful to have homemade goodies for the little ones. In this recipe I use lemon glaze on top. To regulate the sweetness, I go lighter on the sugar in the recipe.
Making the lemon cake
The first thing you want to do is get the butter going. So before you gather your ingredients together, take the butter out of the fridge and and bring it to room temperature. It should be soft, but not melting. Put it in the mixer bowl and start creaming it. For around 5 mins, until its fluffy.
In the meantime, gather the rest of the ingredients for your lemon cake and get your oven going at 180 C / 350 F. After 5 mins add the sugar to the butter and mix for another 5 mins. Now, add the lemon zest and eggs, alternating between the two. Mix for another 2 mins or so.
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Now what you want to do is add the dry mixture to the batter, alternating with the liquid ingredients. So add a few tbsps of the dry mixture and then add some lemon juice. After that add the dry ingredients again and some butter milk and vanilla. And continue repeating this process until you have a nice creamy batter. It should take you around 10 mins. At the end taste the batter and see if you wish to adjust with sugar or lemon. It’s a matter of personal taste really!
Grease a cake pan generously with butter and add the cake mixture. Bake this beauty in the oven for 50 mins to 1 hr at 180 C / 350 F. Baking time can vary from oven to oven, so just insert a cake tester or toothpick or… a wooden souvlaki skewer in my case lol. Well I did you know, it’s thin enough and does the trick 🙂 So if it comes out clean, its ready.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool down. Drizzle with lemon glaze.
Making the Lemon cake glaze
In a bowl sift the confectioners sugar and add the lemon juice tbsp by tbsp. Mix until combined. For a thick glaze it’s about 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar to 4 tbsps lemon juice. If you like it thinner, add more lemon juice.
Beautiful Lemon Cake
This is a beautiful, light and lemony cake. It will make you crave for more and lift your spirits with its zesty aroma. Perfect match for a Sunday afternoon with tea or coffee.
- 230 g (8 oz) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- the zest of 3 lemons
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 4 tbsps lemon juice
Making the Lemon Glaze
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In a bowl sift the confectioners sugar and add the lemon juice tbsp by tbsp. Mix until combined. For a thick glaze it’s about 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar to 4 tbsps lemon juice. If you like it thinner, add more lemon juice.
Making the cake
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Take the butter out of the fridge and and bring it to room temperature. It should be soft, but not melting. Put it in the mixer bowl and start creaming it. For around 5 mins, until its fluffy.
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Gather the rest of the ingredients and get the oven going at 180 C / 350 F.
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After 5 mins add the sugar to the butter and mix for another 5 mins. Now, add the lemon zest and eggs, alternating between the two. Mix for another 2 mins or so.
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In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
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Add a few tbsps of the dry mixture and then add the liquid ingredients, alternating between the dry ingrediens mixture and the liquid ones.
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Mix for 10 mins and taste to check if it needs adjustment.
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Grease a cake pan generously with butter and add the cake mixture. Bake it for 50 mins to 1 hr at 180 C / 350 F.
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Take it out of the oven and let it cool down. Drizzle with lemon glaze.
