Lemon cake - easy weeknight recipe
Today is supposed to be June solstice, when the northern hemisphere enjoys a prolonged day due to the earth tilting towards the sun. Indeed it was bright until almost a tad over half past nine in the evening, but due to the impending rain over the day, it didn't quite allow us to enjoy the extra bit of sunshine outdoors. I have somehow gotten used to the rain in the Netherlands, and don't really mind it until the trains operate smoothly. Commute from Amsterdam to Rotterdam gotta be smooth!
I wanted to bake something this evening for our weekday dessert, so we had some quick and simple pasta for dinner and I used the pasta cooking time to mix together this cake batter. I have been in love with lemon based recipes ever since we had our trip to the Amalfi coast this May. Lemons produced in the Amalfi coast are of historic relevance, and the Italians have perfected the production method to grow and harvest lemon. Amalfi lemons can unfortunately be only grown and sold in the Amalfi region so each recipe that I try to replicate back at home is a tad different in flavour. Amalfi lemons are inherently slightly sweeter in flavor and I have noticed that adding a bit of sugar almost provides for that effect.
We had surplus lemons in our fridge so I decided to make some lemon cake today to relive the memories of our Amalfi trip. This quick recipe came out surprisingly good, and we loved the flavour. To keep it light, I decided to go without any frosting. Thanks to the outdoor chill, I placed it in the balcony after baking to cool down and we were able to consume it for dessert. I doubt if it will last the entire week, I might just pop some into my bag tomorrow as my work time snack :)
Serves: 6-8 people
Time to prepare: 10 minutes
Time to cook: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 huge lemons
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 200 gm melted salted butter
- 2 cups self rising flour
- 1 cup confectioners sugar (I prefer my loaf a bit normal on the sweet side)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 eggs
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160 degree centigrade
- Zest 2 lemons, and juice one of them.
- Evenly combine all the ingredients on the list including the lemon zest and juice to form a smooth batter. Taste the batter after mixing to adjust the sugar levels.
- Place the batter in loaf tin lined with parchment paper and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, raise the temperature to 180 degree centigrade and bake for 5 more minutes
- Place on a cooling rack and enjoy with some tea!
