This is a great cake for your afternoon tea break. The lemon gives you a hint that summer is on the way but in cake form it is the perfect comfort food. Slice it up and keep it in a sealed container for up to a week……if it lasts that long!
Ingredients
- 175g unsalted butter, softened
- 175g caster sugar
- Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
- 3 medium eggs
- 175g self-raising flour
- A pinch of sea salt
- A splash of milk (optional)
- 200g icing sugar
- 75ml lemon juice
Method
- Grease a large loaf tin, 1 litre capacity and line the base and sides with baking paper.
- Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until pale and fluffy.
- Add the grated lemon zest and then beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour with each (to stop the mixture curdling).
- Sift the remaining flour and salt into the mixture and fold in lightly using a large metal spoon. Add a little milk, if necessary, to achieve a good dropping consistency.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and place in an oven pre-heated to 170C / Gas Mark 3. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Put the icing sugar in a bowl, add the lemon juice and stir together until smooth. Leaving the hot cake in the tin, use a fine skewer to make holes over the top of the cake, going quite deep but not all the way to the bottom. Spoon the lemon icing slowly over the cake so it all soaks in.
- Leave in the tin until cool, then turn out and serve in slices.
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