Continuing on with my recipes inspired from our trip to Italy is this lemon cake. While we were on Capri, I had breakfast one morning that was just a simple piece of lemon cake, a fresh orange and a cappuccino. It was just such a perfect breakfast in a place where there were either lemon groves or orange trees everywhere you looked. I bought a nice little ceramic lemon juicer on the island and knew right then and there that I would make a lemon cake for the blog when I got back.
my breakfast on Capri.
This is a really easy lemon cake, with no glazes and no whipping or folding. I wanted a cake that wasn't overly sweet, so I didn't do a lemon glaze and I added a little almond flour because I like the taste.
I always cut parchment paper circles to fit into my cake pans when I bake. After years of hit or miss when it came to getting cakes out of their pans, I was tired of it and now I just do it every time. It seems that no matter how well you prepare your pan, sometimes the cake just doesn't fall out very well. If you cut a parchment paper circle, your cake comes out perfectly every time. It's worth doing and very easy - I show you how in the photos in the post. Make sure to brush a little butter on your pan first, so the paper sticks to the pan. Then just brush butter all over the paper and up the sides of the pan and dust with flour.
my juicer from Capri - a fun little reminder of the island
Make sure your cake is completely cooled before adding your powdered sugar. This cake will last several days but you may have to add a little more powdered sugar on the top, if you like, each day.
This cake is great in the morning with coffee, but it's awfully good also after dinner with a little limoncello!
Lemon Cake
for a printable recipe click here
Ingredients:
- about a tablespoon of butter and a little flour for dusting the cake pan
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1-1/4 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), not unsalted
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup milk (I used whole, but you can use what you like)
- 1/4 cup powdered confectioner's sugar
Instructions:
Prepare your pan: Cut a parchment paper circle to fit the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan. Melt the tablespoon of butter and brush a little of the bottom of your pan. Place the parchment paper on the bottom of your pan and then brush the rest of the butter all over the paper and the sides of the pan. Add a little flour and coat everything, the sides and bottom, shaking the pan til everything is well coated and then tap out the excess.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix the flours and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together with a mixer until very white and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and juice, and milk and blend. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, just until the middle is set. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, with bottom side facing up. After cake is completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar.
