Italian Style Lemon Cake – Torta al Limone is so easy to make. It takes very little time either. Indeed it can be in the oven in less than 10 minutes.
Jump to RecipeIt is the type of cake which is much loved in Italy. I am sure that lemons in abundance, locally, helps with that. But Italians, as we know, make a lot of simple yet very tasty, dishes.
Although I enjoy the cake as soon as it is cool I find that it stores so well and becomes even moister the next day.
Happily the ingredients list for this cake is not too long. I use lemons from Amalfi, but any lemons are fine.
Ingredients for Italian Style Lemon Cake
Flour – I use plain flour though in Italy it would be type 00 flour for cakes.
Sugar – Caster sugar, or granulated sugar. The recipe uses enough to make it sweet, but not overly so.
Oil – A flavourless vegetable oil is best. You can also use melted butter, but oil keeps the cake nice and soft.
Yoghurt – Plain yoghurt gives a richness to the cake. You could also use double/heavy cream.
Lemon – Some lemon juice and some lemon zest. The amount of zest is a matter of taste. I use the zest from 2 lemons.
Eggs – Medium eggs in UK/Europe and large eggs in North America.
Baking powder – This is the raising agent.
Salt – Just a pinch to bring out all the flavours.
Process for Italian Style Lemon Cake
The process is very simple indeed and only takes a few minutes to prepare the cake for baking.
Preheat the oven(170C/150C Fan/340F) and grease and flour a 9 inch springform cake pan.
MIx the baking powder and salt into the flour.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until pale with the eggs beginning to thicken.
Add the oil, yoghurt, lemon juice and zest into the bowl, one at a time mixing each time.
Add the dry ingredients and mix gently until fully combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50 minutes.
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
You may wish to dust the top with icing sugar before serving.
My Cake
My cake was in the oven for exactly 50 minutes. It rose very nicely and a skewer test came out clean.
So I left it in the cake pan for a short while before transferring to a wire rack. When the cake was cool I added a dusting of icing sugar, for presentation.
Then I was able to enjoy a slice.
The wonderfully soft cake with the lemon forward flavour was just perfect. I found it a perfect accompaniment to my cup of tea. Storing it in an airtight container allowed the top to become slightly sticky the next day, for an even nicer experience.
Another lovely rexipe is Italian Apple Crumb Cake
Italian Style Lemon Cake – Torta al Limone
10
servings10
minutes50
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
280 grams plain flour(2 cups minus 2 tbsp, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup)
16 grams baking powder(4 tsp)
150 grams caster sugar(3/4 cup)
3 medium eggs(large in USA)
125 grams plain yoghurt(1/2 cup)
120 ml flavourless oil(1/2 cup)
60 ml lemon juice(1/4 cup)
grated zest of 2 lemons
pinch of salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/340F.
- Grease and flour a 23cm/9 inch springform pan (I put a sheet of parchment in the bottom too).
- Mix the salt and baking powder into the flour.
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until nice and pale and the eggs have thickened somewhat.
- Add the yoghurt and whisk again.
- Pour in the oil and whisk that through too.
- Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk again.
- Tip the dry mixture into the bowl and gently mix until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan.
- Bake the cake for 50 minutes, until it rises well and a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
- Dust the top with icing sugar, if you wish before serving. You can store the cake in an airtight container and the top will become slightly sticky the next day.