Luscious lemon cake

Preparation Time

20 minutes

Cooking Time

25 minutes

Ingredients (serves 12)

Melted butter or margarine, for greasing

6 large eggs

275g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar

180g butter, melted, cooled

3 lemons, rind finely grated, juiced

190g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour

Fresh flowers of your choice, to decorate

lemon icing

3 tbs fresh lemon juice (reserved from cake)

20g butter, diced

360g (2 1/4 cups) pure icing sugar, sifted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly brush a 24cm (3-litre/12-cup) fluted ring pan with the melted butter or

margarine to grease.

2. Beat the eggs and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl with electric beaters until very pale and thick and

a ribbon forms when beaters are lifted. Combine the cooled butter with the lemon rind and 80mls (1/3

cup) of the lemon juice (reserve the remaining juice to make the icing). Sift half of the self- raising

flour over the top of the egg mixture and fold in very gently with a large metal spoon until just

combined. Add the butter and lemon mixture and fold in gently. Sift over the remaining self-raising

flour and fold in very gently to combine.

3. Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and a

skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Stand cake in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a

wire rack to cool. To make the lemon icing, combine the reserved lemon juice and butter in a saucepan

and stir over medium heat until butter is melted. Place the icing sugar in a bowl and stir in the lemon

juice mixture with a wooden spoon until the icing is smooth.

4. Place the cake on the wire rack over a tray and pour the icing evenly over the cake in a steady stream,

allowing the icing to run down the sides (the excess icing will drip onto the tray). Allow the icing to

set. Lift the cake onto a serving plate and serve decorated with fresh flowers of your choice.

Notes

A finely textured cake, intensely flavoured with aromatic lemon, it's perfect for a birthday, christening,

wedding, anniversary or any happy gathering, it will keep, un-iced, for up to 2 days in an airtight

container at room temperature. It's also ideal to serve with rich vanilla ice-cream as a dessert.