Fresh Lemon Cake with Lemon Sour Cream Icing

Before

After

Doesn't lemon just scream SPRING? Uhhhh, still waiting for that in our neighborhood. In the past week, I think we have accumulated about a foot of new snow. Most of it has melted, again. I just keep reminding myself, it's spring in Utah, and we have (about) 6 more weeks of snow, off and on. If I tell myself we have snow till MAY, I won't be frustrated when we are sitting at baseball games in our ski jackets, 6 layers of clothing underneath (that's what I counted yesterday after the game) UGGS, 4 blankets and gloves. And yes, we won, 9-1. So it wasn't all bad.

I tried out this lemon cake a couple of nights ago, and loved it. The original recipe includes just the cake and the lemon syrup. It tasted good, but not very pleasing to the eye. So I added a sour cream lemon icing. This cake is really moist and has a delish tang. It would make a great addition to your Easter brunch buffet. You're having one, right?

Fresh Lemon Cake with Lemon Sour Cream Icing

print recipe

Cake:

3 cups sifted flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 egg yolks

(2 lemons total for cake, syrup and icing)

finely grated zest of one lemon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup milk

Lemon Syrup:

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons hot water

Lemon Frosting:

2-3 Cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

milk

For the cake:

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoons salt in bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites with 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl or mixer until soft peaks form. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well. Add the lemon zest. Combine the lemon juice and milk in a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter, alternating with the lemon juice mixture. Fold in the egg whites. Spread the batter evenly in a greased 9 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until top is golden and cake springs back when touched in center. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges of the springform pan if cake is sticking to pan.

For Syrup:

Combine all syrup ingredients until sugar dissolves, spoon over cake while still warm. Let cool and remove from pan. The syrup will crystallize as the cake cools.

For icing:

Place the sour cream in a mixing bowl with 2 cups of the powdered sugar. Mix and add salt and lemon juice. Add more powdered sugar until icing is desired consistency. Frost cake when completely cooled.

Tips:

-This recipe would work in 2 large loaf pans, or one 9x 13 pan.

-I made a few modifications, because I really like a strong lemon flavor. The original recipe only calls for 1 tablespoon of zest, and no lemon icing. I think I may cut about 1/4 cup of the sugar in the cake next time as well.

Tweet

Pin It