Light, airy and bursting with bright citrus flavour, this lemon sponge cake is the kind of bake that never goes out of style. Made with fresh lemon juice and zest for that unmistakable zing, it’s soft, fluffy and beautifully balanced between sweet and tart. Dust it with icing sugar for a simple finish or serve it as the centrepiece to your next tea table. One slice in and suddenly life feels marginally less chaotic.
Lemon sponge cake
Ingredients
- 315g cake flour
- 15ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 375g castor sugar
- pinch salt
- 125ml (½ cup) sunflower oil
- 5 egg yolks
- 15ml (1 tbsp) lemon zest
- 200ml fresh lemon juice (about 4 large or 8 small lemons)
- 7 egg whites
- 3ml cream of tartar
- 100g icing sugar, to dust
- lemon rind, thinly sliced, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160°C and set aside one 25cm standard bundt cake tin or two 18cm small bundt cake tins.
Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, lemon zest and juice and mix until smooth using an electric beater.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites, using an electric beater, until soft peaks form. Add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the cake mixture into the egg whites until well combined. Pour the mixture into the ungreased bundt tin or tins and bake, 1 hour for 1 large cake, 30 – 40 minutes if you are making 2 small cakes. To test the readiness, a metal skewer inserted close to the centre of the cake or cakes should come out clean.
Remove the cake or cakes from the oven, turn upside down over a cooling rack and set aside to cool completely in the tin. Serve dusted with icing sugar and sprinkled with lemon rind.
Also See: Marzipan Sponge Cake
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
