English Lemon Cake
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© Paden Reich
This English Lemon Cake is a wonderfully satisfying sweet after dinner and it’s even better the next day as a lemony pick-me-up with my caffeine around 3 o’clock. That’s the reason you’re looking at this recipe right now. After getting home from meetings, I needed a cup of coffee and had a taste for something sweet. This cake was left over from dinner two nights before. It’s my mom’s recipe. (I had taken the actual recipe card from her collection.) Well, I took two bites and thought, I have to include this cake in my book. I’m sure there are people like me who occasionally want their cakes to do double duty—to score at dinner and be available for snacking the next day. Here it is. The reason this cake works is the pound-cake texture. It’s delicious, with good lemon flavor and tasty almonds for a little crunch. Thanks, Mom!
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed. Fold in the toasted almonds and the lemon zest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes; remove the cake from the pan, and place on a wire rack.
5. Brush the cake with the lemonade concentrate several times until absorbed. Cool completely, about 11/2 hours. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar and extra lemon zest, and dollop with whipped cream, if desired, before serving.
Equipment
You’ll need a 10-inch tube pan for this recipe.
Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, plus more for pan
4 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons), plus more for garnish
3/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed, undiluted
Powdered sugar
Whipped cream (optional)
serving size
12 People
Hands on time
15 Minutes
Total time
2 Hours, 40 Minutes