Allez, Cuisine! Lemon Drizzle Cake

We told you last week that we use the lemons in our apartment for salad dressing and drinks, which must have made us seem quite healthy and glamorous. In reality, as this recipe’s swift arrival on the heels of last week’s pancakes should make clear, our devotion to citrus is all about sweets.

A staple of tea parties and brunches, this lemon drizzle cake is one of our favorites. If you only learn to make one kind of cake without a box, this should be it. The basic principle of the recipe is to make a standard pound cake and cover it with a glaze made from lemon juice and sugar.

However, the use of super-fine caster sugar makes the cake light enough for the lemon to soak all the way through. The result is that you won’t be able to resist marveling at how “moist” it is, despite everyone in the world hating that word. Meanwhile, the remaining sugar will form a beautiful, crisp glazed topping. Because this recipe doesn’t require frosting, the cake is very portable and works great as a house gift or potluck contribution.

Cake Ingredients:

3 large eggs

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter

Zest from 2 lemons

Lemon Glaze:

Juice of 2 lemons

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

Process

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. To create caster sugar, place granulated sugar in a food processor or blender. Pulse until the sugar is extra fine, but not powdery.

3. Beat together eggs, butter, lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl. Then mix in flour, baking powder and salt until it forms a smooth cake batter.

4. Pour batter into greased bread tin and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick or fork can be inserted and come out clean.

5. While the cake is baking, whisk together lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar to create the glaze.

6. When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and use a skewer to poke holes all over it, all the way down to the bottom. Then pour the lemon glaze over the top.

7. You can eat this cake hot, but it’s best left to sit in the fridge or on a countertop overnight before serving.