We love the taste of lemon. We use it in both sweet and savory dishes. It goes so well with seafood. It’s a great filling for pastry. We even drink it in everything from water to tea to lemonade. Some people even like just the lemon itself, the tarter the better. This acidic fruit really has the power to make you pucker.
Here in The Bachelor’s Kitchen, we like it best in desserts. Cookies, tarts, pies, cakes — they’re all good. We’ve even made lemon brownies, which disappeared very quickly here.
We have gathered here today to discuss Lemon Drizzle Cake. Essentially, it’s a lemon-flavored cake, all made from scratch, of course, topped with a lemon syrup that soaks into the cake. It makes this cake moist and full of lemon flavor.
You will need a 9-by-12-inch cake pan or baking dish. Some people call this size a lasagna pan.
For ingredients, get together at least 2 whole sticks of butter (no low fat here), all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt (Kosher preferred), and three lemons from which you will extract the zest and the juice. Tip: cut the used-up rinds into smaller pieces and put them down the garbage disposal with lots of water to help clean and deodorize the disposal.
You’ll also need regular sugar, four large eggs, and a little whole milk (like we said, this is not a low-fat treat, just make small pieces).
Preheat the oven to 325℉ and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Grease the baking dish and line it with parchment paper, leaving about an inch or two hanging over the long sides. Then grease the paper in the pan. You can use butter, oil, or a spray. This makes the cake easier to take out of the pan and the pan easier to clean.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 heaping cups of flour, 5-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the finely grated zest of three lemons.
In a large bowl, mix together 2 sticks of butter and a cup of sugar, using an electric mixer, until the mixture is soft and fluffy. That takes about three minutes. Now, add the 4 eggs one at a time, keeping the mixer running until they are incorporated into the mixture. Next, add 1/4 cup of milk. At this point, the batter will look a bit lumpy. Then, add in the flour mixture and keep beating until fully combined. Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth out the top with a spatula.
Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out clean. Let it rest in the pan for about ten minutes. Then use the paper to remove the cake from the pan and onto a wire rack over a cookie sheet to cool. Very carefully, remove the paper.
While the cake is baking, mix together in a small bowl a cup of sugar and enough lemon juice to make a runny mixture. While the cake is still warm, gently spoon the sugar mixture evenly over the top of the cake. It should soak into the cake and leave a sugary coating on the top. When completely cool, cut into squares and serve.
All of this will take less than an hour of cooking and preparation, plus a couple hours of cooling time. It’s a great, moist finish to a meal or a day.
