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.