my kitchen: EASY LEMON CAKE LOAF

Easy Lemon Cake Loaf

Makes 1 loaf

Thank you Broma Bakery for the recipe! 

Happy leap year! February 29th!

Last night, I was craving cake. And I had all the ingredients in the fridge, mostly. So it was the perfect time to try to make a lemon loaf for the first time.  This recipe from Broma Bakery was very easy to prepare and make, and I skipped the glaze because 1- the cake was sweet enough on it's own for me and 2- I didn't have any powdered sugar on hand. 

This recipe was SO GOOD. We ate almost the entire loaf the first day, though it came out flatter than I expected (maybe because it needed that extra 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar. lol). (Can you see how moist it is?) 

EASY LEMON CAKE LOAF

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar*
• zest of 2 lemons (about 2 Tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt or sour cream **
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour ***
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350°F 
2. 2. In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the sugar and the lemon zest together. 
3. 3. Add the melted butter to the sugar and mix well. Add the vanilla extract and each egg, mixing well. 
4. 4. Add the greek yogurt, milk and lemon juice. Mix to combine. It will look curdled and lumpy, and that's normal. 
5. 5. Add the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix.
6. 6. Pour the batter into lined loaf pan and bake at 175 C/ 350°F for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a chopstick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean. Cool slightly before cutting, but it's quite wonderful warm as well. 

RECIPE NOTES AND CHANGES

* (originally 1 cup)

 ** (originally sour cream)

*** (I misread the recipe and used 1 1/3 cup of flour instead of 1 2/3 cup but the cake came out wonderfully moist and rich but not too dense. will try it next time with the right amount of flour to compare.)