I decided to make a nice, light, lemon cake. For this cake I wanted to try my savarin mould which I have had for years but never used. The cake could equally well be made in an 8 or 9 inch(20 to 23 cm) square tin, or probably in a 10 inch springform round tin.
The recipe is easy and has just a light lemon flavour, imparted through the use of lemon zest. For mine I used the zest from two lemons, but as much or as little as one wants is good.
As mine was baking I was slightly worried that the tin was too small, as the cake completely filled it and rose about 1/2 an inch above the top. But it worked out just fine and turned out well, onto a cooling rack. A very small piece stuck in the tin but came away easily so I could patch it back onto the cake.
The smell of lemon as the cake baked was very nice indeed.
Once cooled I dusted it with some icing sugar, though a I think a little lemon icing, juice mixed with icing sugar, drizzled over the top would be very good too.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium eggs(large in USA)
- 150ml (1/2cup + 2 tbsp)Whole milk at room temperature
- Lemon peel to taste (I used two lemons)
- 160g (11tbsp + 1tsp) Butter softened
- 250g(1 1/4 cup) caster sugar (granulated would be ok too)
- 300g (2 1/2 cups) cake flour(or just a little less than 2 1/2 of plain flour)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Icing sugar to taste
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F
- Grease a 10 inch/25cm savarin tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar together, until pale and fluffy.
- Continue beating(I used a hand mixer) on medium speed, while slowly adding the eggs until all is combined.
- Add the milk and whisk to combine.
- Mix the baking powder into the flour, then mix the lemon zest in as well.
- Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Carefully spoon or scrape the batter into the tin, spreading all around, evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes and test with a skewer to ensure it is cooked.
- Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Dust with icing sugar to serve.