Servings : one 8" cake
I am personally a HUGE fan of lemon cake, and have been experimenting to discover the most perfect recipe for a long time! FINALLY I achieved the results I’ve been dreaming of! This is one of the softest, lightest, fluffiest lemon cakes you will ever taste. I served it without any toppings as it was just perfect on its own with a cup of tea…but it can also be served with softly whipped cream or a simple lemon glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour (180gm)
- 1/2 cup butter/margarine (112gm)
- 3/4 cup sugar, grinded (150gm)
- 2 large eggs (use 3 if you have small eggs)
- juice of 1 lemon (about 3-4 tbsp. FRESHLY SQUEEZED)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
- zest of half a lemon (about 1 tsp.)
- 1/2 cup milk (100ml)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
Make sure ALL the ingredients are at room temperature before you start.
Grind the sugar to a powder and set aside.
Sift the flour twice with the salt and baking powder.
Grease and line an 8″ round pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 170 C.
Beat the butter with the sugar until light and creamy. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Now add the freshly squeezed lemon into the milk and stir. The milk will thicken slightly on adding the lemon, that’s ok.
Add a third of the flour and beat until combined, then add half the milk. Don’t panic if it looks curdled, it will be fine. Again beat the batter until milk is mixed in. Add another third of the flour, mix it in, and then add the remaining milk. Finally add the last of the flour, the zest and the vanilla essence. Beat just until everything is well combined. Do NOT over-mix at this point, you can even finish up the mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula. The batter will be very light and fluffy.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let it cool completely before frosting/slicing.
For a simple lemon glaze, take 1 cup icing sugar, add a few drops of lemon juice (freshly squeezed) and add them in, keep mixing until the glaze is of pourable consistency. You can add a few tbsp of warm water as well for a less intense lemony flavour. Pour on the cake and allow to set.
Enjoy! 🙂
ya salam what a wonderfull kitchen.
Ustado k Uatad Fauzia i am rely enjoying and learning lot from you i thank you so much to published new recipes, May Allah always with you .
nice and lovly
Should I pour the glaze over the hot cake?
No, let the cake cool, then prepare the glaze and pour it immediately on the cake. 🙂
nice, ill try it out. why is it that sometimes when i make cake it raises unevenly especially at the centre
Check this note, hopefully it will help guide you on how to avoid that from happening again: Cake Mistakes
hi!! I made this cake many times. Its one of the delicious cakes i’ve ever baked or tasted 🙂 i want to ask .. Can i use plain yougurt instead of buttermilk?? ‘coz i tried another recipe in which yougurt is used…that cake was lovely too but too soft to handle :/ it also used baking soda alongwith baking powder( half & half) . Hope u’ll help me 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the awesome feedback! Yoghurt is a bit different from buttermilk, for this particular cake buttermilk works best. Or rather milk with lemon squeezed into it.
Hi fauzia firstly keep up the good work I’m really enjoying trying new things out! I wanted to ask when you say flour you mean plain flour right?!x
Hi and thank you! Yes flour is normally plain flour unless specified otherwise.
Salaam. i dint understand that.tip part can.u.plz explain.it once again… thanks
W/Salaam, there are two tips given, which one please?
i made the cake but it did not rise i m very upset what to do why it not rise… i use 8 inches round pan…. plz tell me…
Did you use fresh baking powder? A cake not rising normally would mean the baking powder you used is not working well!
AA, how r u? wishing a very happy eid
can u use lime instead?
W/Salaam, good thanks! Yes you can. 🙂
Hi.how we can make lemon zest at home? Thnks
Hi, use a fine grater to gently grate the peel of lemons. Make sure you grate JUST the peel, not the white part (pith) which is quite bitter.
Salaam alleykum
Can we use bottled lemon?
W/Salaam, you can but best to use freshly squeezed.
A.A i love baking cakes,s and my question is can i use selfraising flour when baking lemon cake instead of baking powder?
W/Salaam, yes you can try with SR flour. 🙂
Salaam Fauzia. I have a 9″ round pan, please advice me on the measures.
W/Salaam, use the same measure, the cake will not be as risen but it will still be awesome.
Thanks Fauzia, I was thinking of taking 1.5 times of the given quantities. That should work right?
Yes that should be ok if the pan is deep enough.
Fauzia, excuse me for being such a novice, but I didn’t get the “deep enough” part, mine is around 1.6″ deep, will it work? Actually I want the cake to rise well. Btw I have been trying out many recipes from your site and most of them had come out well, thanks and keep giving us such superb recipes.
That’s what I meant, the depth of the pan. I believe it should be ok. All the best! 🙂
You may discard my last post, I took 1.25 times the given quantities and the outcome was perfect. The cake was very soft, only thing I felt the salt quantity was a bit too much, it looked like the salt taste was interfering between sugar’s sweetness and lemon’s sourness. I will reduce salt next time I make it, Insha Allah.
Great, thanks for the lovely feedback dear.
can u usse oil instead of butter?
You will need butter for this recipe.