Best Best Ever Lemon Cake Recipes

BEST EVER LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Measure ingredients into bowls. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy and pale. Add 1 egg at a time, beating until the batter returns to a uniform pale color before adding the next. Sift in flour gradually. Fold with a wooden spoon to be sure flour is combined. Add baking powder and lemon zest.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan, being careful not to press it down.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Try not to open the oven door early to avoid collapsing the fluffy cake.
• Juice the zested lemon into a small bowl. Add the zest and juice of the second lemon. Stir in 7 tablespoons sugar until dissolved. Pour glaze over the warm cake and leave to cool in the pan; glaze will harden as the cake cools.

MAIDA HEATTER'S BEST DARN LEMON CAKE EVER

Steps:

• Spray an 8-1/2"x5" loaf pan with baking spray.
• Grind almonds very fine and set aside.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
• In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter. Transfer to a large bowl. With electric mixer, add sugar and beat a bit to mix.
• On low speed, beat in eggs one at a time, beating only to mix well.
• Add dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with milk in two additions, scraping bowl with a spatula and beating until mixed after each addition.
• Mix in lemon extract.
• Remove from mixer. Stir in grated rind, then stir in ground almonds.
• Turn mixture into pan. (It will be thin.) Bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes. (During baking, cake will form a large crack or two on top, and crack(s) will remain light in color.).
• A few minutes before cake is finished, prepare glaze: stir sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over moderate heat, only until sugar is just dissolved. (Don't boil!).
• When cake is removed from the oven, let it stand for 2-3 minutes. Then, using brush, brush the hot glaze gradually over the hot cake. Glaze should not be applied quickly; it should take about 5 minutes to apply all the glaze.
• Let cake stand until not quite completely cool. Then gently invert onto a rack and turn right side up. When cool, wrap in plastic wrap or foil and let stand 12-24 hours before serving.

LEMON GLAZED CAKE THE BEST EVER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 13x9 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and lemon zest. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and lemon extract. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.
• Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Lemon Glaze: Within 10 minutes of the finish of baking the cake, begin the glaze. Put all of the ingredients in a medium pot and bring to a boil stirring frequently. Once the galze begin to turn white and foamy stir and remove from the heat. Remove the cake from the oven and begin to immediately poke holes in the cake with a toothpick. The more wholes, the more glaze gets through the cake. Slowly pour the glaze sauce over the cake covering the holes. Allow the cake to cool completly.
• To make frosting: In large bowl, beat butter and grated lemon zest together for about 2 to 3 minutes, add confectioners' sugar and lemon juice.

BEST EVER LEMON POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. In medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix buttermilk and lemon juice together in another bowl. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture. Add lemon zest and mix, just until smooth. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool cake for ten minutes. Mix the powdered sugar and 1/3 cup of lemon juice glaze together with a whisk. Make a few holes in cake with a toothpick and pour glaze over cake. Store the cake covered in the refrigerator after serving.

BEST-EVER LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• 1. FOR CAKE: Preheat oven to 350º (325 if high altitude). In large bowl, mix first 5 ingredients (marked with*) with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl-whisk together well. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, a little at a time. Beat well after each addition. Begin and end with flour mixture. Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans that are coated with cooking spray. Sharply tap pans on counter a couple of times to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes. NOTE: Cakes will NOT brown. They will remain pale with slightly golden edges-sort of like a Twinkie. Cool in pans for 10 minutes on wire rack, then turn them out directly onto racks to continue cooling. Cool completely.
• 2. FOR FROSTING: In bowl, mix everything EXCEPT powdered sugar in bowl and beat with mixer until light and fluffy. Make sure you use COLD cream cheese, as room-temp cream cheese makes frosting too runny. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat JUST until blended. Chill 1 hour.
• 3. For Curd: Beat sugar and butter together in bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add lemon juice. Mixture will look curdled at first-but will smooth out during cooking. In heavy pan (don't use copper, it will react with the acid), cook over low heat until smooth, then increase to medium heat. Stir constantly-especially in corners on bottom of pan. (OR you can cook in steel bowl over simmering water). DO NOT BOIL. It's done at 170º~ when your finger leaves clear path on back of spoon. Remove from heat. Add zest. Cover with plastic wrap (pressed onto surface of curd to prevent skin from forming) and thoroughly chill in refrigerator. It will last 1 week in fridge...2 months in freezer.
• 4. TO ASSEMBLE: Slice both layers of COOLED cake in half, horizontally--to create 4 separate layers (I use dental floss). Place one layer section on large plate. Slather with thick layer of curd. Place remaining layers on top, one at a time, slathering with curd in between each layer--or just use frosting in between layers if you didn't make curd. Frost entire cake with frosting. May garnish with thin slices of lemon, lemon zest, mint leaves or with Lemon gel candies.