By:ALEXA HOOD
Staff Writer
Lemon cake is a perfect cake for every occasion. If you like lemon desserts, you have got to give this cake a try!
Ingredients:
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest (from 2 large lemons)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
To start, preheat your oven to 350℉. Spray a 9 inch square pan with vegetable cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set it aside for later. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, butter and lemon zest with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Creaming the butter and the sugar is a crucial step in baking a cake. The purpose is to create tiny air bubbles that can catch gas being released by the leavener (in this case, baking soda and baking powder). This ultimately creates a fine, light crumb texture in your cake. Also be sure to zest your lemons before you juice them. Lemons are near impossible to zest once they’ve been squeezed and squeezing them is much easier after you’ve zested them. Once your sugar and butter mixture has been creamed together, it’s time to add the eggs. Add them, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go to make sure everything is getting incorporated evenly. Once all the eggs have been added, beat in the fresh lemon juice and vanilla. Now we’ll add our dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Be sure not to overmix the batter at this stage. This could increase gluten development in the flour, and we don’t want a chewy cake! Sour cream is added to not only enhance the flavor, but make the cake light and moist. The acid in sour cream acts to tenderize the gluten in the flour and helps create a light cake crumb. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it into a smooth layer. Bake your cake for about 38 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Overbaking this cake can dry it out, so be sure to keep an eye on your bake time. Once it’s done, cool your cake in the pan on a cooling grid for 10 minutes. Remove the cake and cool completely on a cooling grid before icing.