We are excited to try this lemon cake from The Local Moms Network food contributor, Kathleen “Kat” Ashmore. It is sweet enough to be kid-friendly, but sophisticated enough to be perfect for Spring and Summer entertaining. It works from brunch to dessert, and doesn’t require a mixer – just two bowls for easy cleanup. One crucial tip from Kat: Don’t use fat-free yogurt. “I like full fat or partial fat yogurt in this recipe; nonfat doesn’t provide the fat that supports the cake’s structure.”
CAKE INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups Gluten-free flour blend
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom optional
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest about 2 lemons
- ⅓ cup lemon juice about 2 lemons
- ¾ cup unsweetened plain yogurt partial or full fat
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
GLAZE INGREDIENTS:
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- Juice from ½ of a lemon
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a standard loaf pan (9×5) with baking spray and line with a parchment paper sling running horizontally across the long sides of the pan. This is a lot of batter for a big loaf, so don’t use too much parchment paper or the cake will run out over the sides of the pan
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar for 30 seconds by hand. Add the vanilla, oil, yogurt, zest and juice from both lemons, and whisk to combine.
- In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined and there are no traces of flour.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and use a pairing knife to make a ½ inch deep cut down the center of the cake vertically, and bake for 55-65 minutes until a tester comes out just clean.
- When the cake is baked, cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a baking rack to finish cooling completely.
- While the cake cools, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together to form a thick glaze.
- Spoon the glaze on top of the cooled cake.
- Serve and enjoy!