You’ve heard the saying, If life gives you lemons, make lemonade – well, to that I say, what’s so bad about lemons, and wouldn’t a lemon cake be even better? So I made a lemon cake for no reason at all. It just seemed like a good thing to do on a rainy afternoon.
This is a version of one of the first cakes I ever made. It only has five ingredients so it’s a perfect recipe for a beginning cook or an experienced one who just wants a delicious cake without a lot of mess and bother. You could brew up a pot of tea, call a couple of friends to come by, and suddenly you have a lovely little tea party.
Instead of hosting a tea party, I surprised Sammy with an after work snack of warm yellow lemony cake and a big glass of milk. It didn’t seem to spoil his dinner. I saved the rest for today to share with friends. What a nice little surprise. In fact, treat yourself to a bite of lemon cake. It’s guaranteed to make you smile, even on a rainy day.
Ingredients
6 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for glaze
2 eggs
zest of one lemon, plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice, save the rest of the juice for glaze
1¼ cups self-rising flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 inch pan with baking spray, or butter and flour it.
In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar until well blended.
Add eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and mix well.
Add flour and mix to combine. Dough will be stiff.
Spread dough in prepared pan and bake for 20 to 22 minutes until lightly browned and set in the middle.
While the cake bakes, make the glaze:
In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and the remaining lemon juice (should be about 2 or 3 Tbsp, if not add more from another lemon).
Remove cake from the oven and pour the glaze over the hot cake.
Let cake cool completely, cut in squares and serve.
