Lemon Rosemary Pound Cake
This cake was inspired by @croissantqueen on Instagram. I love her feed. Go check it out.
The first time I tried lemon cake was at Old School on Upper Thompson. I was never a fan of lemon, but I can't forget the tangy and tart taste of the soft and light lemon cake there. This year, I've tried baking lemon cake and lemon scones and found out lemon zest and lemon juice are really great for adding that natural yummy lemon flavour to cakes.
Plus, my mum - who had always insisted she doesn't like cakes - suddenly grew a love for cakes after trying my lemony baked goods. What more encouragement do I need than a mother who looks forward to my cakes? She got inspired to start baking and there was a point in time my fridge had 6 lemons waiting to be used for baking (this was really a miracle. My mum tends not to buy large quantities of perishables)!
Tarty lemon and refreshing rosemary in every bite to whet your appetite :) I glazed the top with homemade lemon syrup (juice of 1 lemon + about 3/4 cup icing sugar), but taste testers said it was too intense. It could have been excessive lemon juice, next time I'll follow the icing directions by croissantqueen and see how it turns out.
Recipe from Croissantqueen
Ingredients:
For cake -
190g unsalted butter, room temperature
165g caster sugar
3 large eggs
190g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp chopped rosemary
25ml whole milk
80g Greek yogurt
For glazing syrup (optional) -
Juice of 1 lemon
50g caster sugar
100ml water
For icing (optional) -
2 cups icing sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 8 x 8 inch cake pan (cake will be flatter) or 7 x 3 inch loaf pan with butter and lightly dust with plain flour. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt into a separate bowl. Mix in lemon zest and rosemary.
4. On low speed, add 1/3 of flour mixture into creamed butter and sugar. Mix well. Add the next 1/3 of flour mixture. Add milk and increase the mixing speed to mix well. Add remaining flour mixture. Mix well until batter is smooth and even. Add Greek yogurt. Mix till smooth. Batter will be thick and viscous.
5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 50 - 60 min. A cake tester inserted into the centre should come out clean.
6. (Optional) While cake is baking, make lemon syrup. Bring the lemon juice, sugar, and water to a boil in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer till liquid is reduced to half. Remove from heat and set aside. When cake is hot from oven, pour syrup over cake and allow it to soak in.
7. Cool cake in tin before turning it out on to a wire rack.
8. (Optional) Mix icing sugar with lemon juice until the sugar dissolves into a paste. It should be pourable and not too runny. If you want a thinner icing, add more lemon juice. Pour over top of cooled cake and let it drip down the sides. Allow cake to rest for at least 1 hour or until icing is set.
9. (Optional) Decorate cake with fresh rosemary leaves and grated lemon zest.
