Everyday Lemon Cake
Simple butter cake made with lots of lemon. This easy recipe is made in one bowl without any special tools and yields a moist, tender cake with lovely lemon flavor.
Servings 1 9 inch square cake
Equipment
- 9 inch metal square pan
Ingredients
- 250g or 1 ¼ cups fine granulated sugar
- Zest of 4 lemons avoid the white pith when you zest
- 226g or 1 cup unsalted butter cold is fine
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 260g or 2 cups cake flour if measuring by cup, shake the flour over the cup then level it (never scoop or pack it in)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 120g or ½ cup sour cream full fat
- 60g or ¼ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
- granulated sugar to top 2-4 tablespoons
Instructions
- Butter and flour a 9 inch square pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F. If your eggs aren’t at room temperature, set them in a bowl of warm water.
- Set the sugar in a large bowl and zest the lemons over it. Rub the sugar and zest together using your fingers, until it resembles wet sand (this releases the flavorful oils from the zest).
- Separately, melt the butter then add it to the sugar along with the salt and vanilla. Whisk this mixture well, for at least a minute.
- Add the eggs, one by one, whisking between each addition. Once all the eggs are in, whisk vigorously for a minute - you should have a thick, shiny emulsified batter.
- Sift the cake flour into the bowl and add the baking powder, sour cream and lemon juice. Whisk until there are no flour streaks. The batter will be smooth and creamy.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the sugar in an even layer on top to coat.
- Bake the cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan. Cake is best eaten the day of. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container.