I’m a big lemon cake fan, as is everyone in our house. I recently tried a variation of the much used ‘iced lemon traybake’ that involved using lemons and limes. The recipe actually calls for lemon curd, but when I made the cake, I had none – it was still yum. I reckon the curd is optional, in case you don’t fancy buying a jar of lemon curd, just for one recipe.
This recipe is from my favourite cook book of 2019, Mary Berry’s ‘Fast Bakes’. I’ve tried numerous recipes from the book and they have all been hits.
Ingredients:
- 225 g softened butter
- 225 g castor sugar
- 275 g self raising flour (sifted)
- 1 level teaspoon of baking powder (sifted)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 level tablespoons of lemon curd* (optional. If you don’t have any use 4 tbsp milk instead)
- Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
- Finely grated zest of 1 large lime
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180° or 160° fan. Grease a 12 x 9 traybake or roasting tin. Line the base with baking parchment
- Measure the butter, caster sugar, flour, eggs, baking powder, lemon curd and half of the lemon and lime zest into a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and level
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for around 30-35 minutes or until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin and springs back to touch. Leave to cool in tin
- Cover with icing when cooled (recipe below)
Icing:
- 3 tablespoons of lemon & lime juice (I used half and half)
- 300 g of icing sugar (sifted)
Mix juice with sifted icing sugar (just stir it, no need to use a mixer), to give a runny consistency. Spread out evenly over the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining lemon and lime zest and leave to set. Cut into 20 pieces
Some @thecakemum observations/tips:
- Read the recipe fully, I actually didn’t. I bunged all the zest in the cake, instead of keeping some to sprinkle on the icing. No harm but it would look pretty to have zest as decoration.
- It’s worth investing in a brownie or traybake tin. I bought a Wilton one years ago and have used it so much. The one I have is called ‘Wilton Recipe Right Sheet Pan’, how’s that for a mouthful! It’s 13 x 9.5 inches.
- I beat the mixture for 1-2 mins with my mixer
- My oven is very hot, so I check the cake at 25 mins and normally take it out just before 30 mins. Every oven is different so get to know your oven as a few minutes can make all the difference. My oven is 30° hotter than the temp on the gauge, so it’s worth buying a cheap oven gauge to stick inside the oven.
Happy Baking
De (aka thecakemum)
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