Dan’s Lemon Cake
During the holiday of Sukkot, the whole gang came over, all the kids and grandkids and my mom. We had an amazing time and everyone relaxed, hung out and ate too much. I had the kids bring over dessert, a time consuming process which I knew would help cut down on my prep and my son Dan, my eldest, who likes to play in the kitchen like his mom, came over with this amazing lemon cake that both I and DH instantly fell in love with. It disappeared in a trice and I asked him for the recipe, which he in turn got from a friend.
It was such a hit, I made it twice in a row, and clearly has gone on our list of favorites. The nice thing about this cake is that it’s simple to prepare and can be done by hand 1,2,3.
So start by preheating the oven to 350 F/180 C and gathering your ingredients.
Now to intensify the flavor of the lemon in the cake, take your scrubbed lemon, and grate or microplane the lemon peel, being careful not to grate the bitter white pith of the lemon into a cup with the orange juice and let sit together while you put together the dry ingredients. This releases the lemon oil in the peel and gives a bigger bang for your buck in that the flavor of the lemon is much stronger this way, a nice little hack. Stir together the flour, baking powder and sugar till combined.
Now add the oil and eggs to the orange juice and lemon peel.
Add the whole lot to the flour mixture and stir together,
making sure to scrape sides and underneath so no pockets of flour remain but just till combined so as not to toughen the cake.
Grease two long loaf pans and pour the batter evenly between the two pans.
I advise placing pans on parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any potential spills and place in hot oven for 35-40 minutes or till wooden toothpick comes out clean with a crumb or two. Let cool on wire racks.
While cake is baking, prepare the icing for the topping. Mix together the powdered sugar (sift it) with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and only add more if necessary to form a thick white icing. Wait till cake is completely cooled (!!) before slathering on top of the cake. It’s fine if some drips down the sides but it should mostly stay put. Let icing harden and serve to lemon loving cake eaters.
Dan’s Lemon Cake
3/4 cup orange juice
Grated peel of whole lemon
3/4 cup oil (177 ml)
4 large eggs
2 1/2 (300 grams) cups flour
1.5 cups (300 grams) sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
Icing:
1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice squeezed from lemon
2 31 x 10.3 cm English cake pans, or long loaf pans
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180 C.
Prepare two English cake pans by greasing/oil spraying well and place on parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet (to catch drips). Set aside.
Grate peel of 1 whole lemon and place into a cup with the orange juice and let soak while you organize the dry ingredients. This releases the oils and fragrance of the lemon and gives a much stronger flavor.
Place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and stir together.
Add the oil, eggs and orange juice with lemon peel into the dry ingredients and stir together just till combined and ingredients are incorporated. Batter should be thick and smooth yet pourable.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans dividing evenly between the pans. Place into the preheated oven and bake 35-40 minutes or till a toothpick comes out with a crumb or two.
Put cakes on wire rack and when completely cold ice with the icing by mixing together the 1-2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice with the 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar. The icing should be a bright white color, and fairly thick but smooth and spread onto the tops of the cakes and let icing harden before cutting.
Hi, Do you know if you can substitute the orange juice for anything else?
In this particular recipe, I would stick with the orange juice. The only substitute that could work would be pineapple juice. Good luck!
I have made this cake a couple of times as I love lemon cakes. It’s very easy to prepare and is very tasty
Thanks for your comment, Rosi! Glad you enjoyed it.
I made this cake for shabbat and it was sooooo delicious! And it’s very easy to make! I replaced the icing with syrup (made of water, lemon and sugar) and it was mindblowing! Thank you!
Lovely! Thank you.
That cake was delicious! One of the best I’ve ever made! Instead of the icing, I made syrup with water, sugar and lemon, and poured it over the cake after poking a few hole and it was delicious! Thank you
I’m so happy to hear it! Glad you enjoyed.
Can I bake this in a 9×13 pan?
Yes you can. Keep an eye on the baking time, it will be similar but check 5 minutes before. Good luck!