Lucious Lemon Snacking Cake

 

 

I wanted to bake a cake for snacking on for the weekend. A weekend without cake is not a great weekend in my books.  I know  . . .  I shouldn't be eating cake, but it is just something which I love to have at the weekend.  Besides I have two grandsons here this weekend as well and I know they like cake!

I also didn't want to spend a lot of time making a frou frou cake that was going to cost me a lot of fuss and muss. I remembered this Lemon Snack Cake that I had  the recipe for in my Big Blue Binder. 

 

The Big Blue Binder is a large recipe file in which I have been collecting recipes for most of my life. It is filled with all of my tried and trues, recipes which have been gifted to me from friends and relatives, family recipes and recipe clippings I have saved through the years from books and magazines.

It has travelled all around the world with me now. It is one of my great treasures.

 

This Lemon Snacking Cake Recipe is a bit different than most cake recipes in that it is mixed and baked and served all in the same pan. Yes, you heard that right!

The batter is  mixed right in the pan. The cake bakes in the pan. The cake is frosted in the pan (once cooled). And finally, the cake is served from that same pan. I also store this cake in the pan. 

 

It is very similar to a chocolate cake which is known as Wacky Cake.  Also known as Chocolate Depression Cake this is a cake that is also mixed in the pan.

When I was a teenager my best friend was a gal named Linda. Her mother Cecile was Acadian French and a super cook. She used to make Wacky Cake all the time and I originally got the recipe from her. It is also in my Big Blue Binder.  Linda lived right across the back yard from me.

  

We were inseparable throughout all of our teenage years. Sadly she passed away about 15 years ago now from Breast Cancer. I never bake a Wacky Cake without fondly thinking of her and our friendship.

Like I said, this is a very similar cake, except that this cake does contain eggs and milk, whereas the Wacky cake doesn't.  The main similarity it the mixing in the same tin it bakes in.

If you are nervous about doing that just mix all of the cake ingredients together in a bowl using the one bowl method and pour the batter into a greased and floured tin.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LUCIOUS LEMON SNACKING CAKE

Simple ordinary baking cupboard ingredients and a fresh lemon.  That's it.  Oh, and an 8-inch square baking tin.

For the cake:

• 1 1/4 cups (156g) plain, all purpose flour
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large free range egg
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (180ml) milk

For the glaze:

• 3/4 cup (97.5g) icing sugar
• 1 TBS butter, melted
• 2 to 3 tsp lemon juice

 

I cannot say for sure if this cake can be made with self-raising flour or not, not having done so myself. I think you might be able to, but I would add an additional 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and leave out the salt.

I only use large free range eggs, and full fat milk. I can't afford to keep more than one kind in my house at any given time.

In the U.K. use caster sugar in the cake and confectioner's sugar for the frosting.  Icing sugar and confectioner's or powdered sugar are the same thing.

 

Give your lemon a good scrub before zesting it to help rid it of any pesticides or insect dirt.  This is what I always do and it makes a difference.

I use my micro-plane zester to zest the lemon. It couldn't be any easier and I would not be without one now.

 

HOW TO MAKE LUCIOUS LEMON SNACKING CAKE

It really could not be any easier. Trust me.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking tin.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the pan. Level it off with a fork and then make two deep indentations in it.

Whisk the egg and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Pour this mixture into one indentation.

Pour the melted butter into the other indentation and then pour the milk over all.

Mix well together with a fork, making sure you get into the corners. The mixture will not be totally smooth. (Alternately you can mix everything together in a bowl.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The top should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan.

To make the glaze whisk all of the ingredients together until you have a thick glaze that you can spread over the top of the cake. Use only enough lemon juice to do this.

Spread the glaze over top and cut into squares to serve. Store in the pan, tightly covered.

 

I love cakes like this that are quick and easy to make. The fact that you do it all in the pan, creating less mess adds to it's appeal.  

This cake is moist and delicious with loads of lemon flavor and a nice tender crumb. In retrospect I am thinking you could adapt it to being an orange cake with a few simple swaps. Orange zest for the lemon. Orange extract for the lemon and orange juice in the glaze.

Simple.

 

Some other delicious snack cakes you might enjoy that I have baked are:

SALTED CARAMEL PEANUT BUTTER SNACK CAKE - This  is a particularly lovely cake. Nice and moist with a beautiful crumb due to the buttermilk in the cake batter.  Flavored beautifully with peanut butter and brown sugar. The brown sugar also adds to the moist crumb of this cake. A  beautiful salted caramel frosting on the top is its crowning glory.  It is very similar to the old school Penuche frosting.

BLUEBERRY & LEMON SNACK CAKE - This is a very buttery and moist cake, with a rich sour cream batter.  I love sour cream cakes! They always have a beautiful texture. This particular one is swirled with blueberry jam and lemon curd. What you end up with is a cake riddled with pockets of lemon and a nice jam swirl throughout.  Delicious!

Yield: 9 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Lucious Lemon Snacking Cake

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min

This is one of those tasty cakes you mix, bake and serve up right from the pan. No fuss, no muss and lush lemon flavors from the cake itself, right on up to that buttery lemon glaze!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 1/4 cups (156g) plain, all purpose flour
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large free range egg
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (180ml) milk

For the glaze:

• 3/4 cup (97.5g) icing sugar
• 1 TBS butter, melted
• 2 to 3 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking tin.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the pan. Level it off with a fork and then make two deep indentations in it.
3. Whisk the egg and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Pour this mixture into one indentation.
4. Pour the melted butter into the other indentation and then pour the milk over all.
5. Mix well together with a fork, making sure you get into the corners. The mixture will not be totally smooth. (Alternately you can mix everything together in a bowl.)
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The top should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan.
8. To make the glaze whisk all of the ingredients together until you have a thick glaze that you can spread over the top of the cake. Use only enough lemon juice to do this.
9. Spread the glaze over top and cut into squares to serve. Store in the pan, tightly covered.

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