Lemon Cake

This is summer in a cake.

I think of fruits and light desserts for the summer and this cake is both at once.

The texture of this cake is light and airy and it’s got a wonderful lemon flavor. The secret to that lemony goodness is to use fresh lemons. I would never, (and I repeat) NEVER, use lemon extract because I think it gives desserts a distinctly bathroom cleaner flavor and smell, which is not good eats. Please tell me that I’m not the only one who thinks that.

There’s no frosting here, which makes this cake not as heavy and rich as others. Instead you’ve got a thin crispy sugary crinkle crust. I originally thought to skip the sugar topping and add frosting because I thought that the sugar on top was going to melt when it baked. It’s sort of like a thin brulee shell. Texture and tasty all at once. I’m glad I was wrong because it turned out perfectly (and obviously didn’t melt). I’d argue a frosting would still be a delightful option (even though my husband disagrees 😉 ).

Lemon Cake Recipe
(Makes a 9 inch cake)

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour (equivalent to 260 grams)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest (equivalent to about 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (equivalent to about 1 lemon)
1 cup olive oil
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay a piece of parchment paper down in the bottom of a 9 inch round pan, grease it, and set it aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set these dry ingredients aside.
In a big bowl, whisk together the (1 and 1/2 cups) sugar and eggs until the mixture looks like a light pale yellow color. (About 1 minute.)
Add in the lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk everything together.
Add in the olive oil and yogurt and whisk everything again.
Gradually whisk in the dry ingredients just until combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the cake batter.
Bake in the preheat oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (It took 45 minutes in my oven.)
Let the cake mostly cool in the pan. Then invert the cake onto a plate or rack that is large enough to hold the cake. Lift the baking pan off of the cake and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. Then flip the cake back over onto your serving dish.