… so here it is folks… the lemon cake to beat all other lemon cakes courtesy of my mum… if you bake only one cake this weekend to celebrate mothers day, let this be that cake… it’s very simple with no fancy icing or decoration but so gloriously satisfying and perfectly light and crumbly, just how a good cake should be…
…. memories are such a powerful thing aren’t they… and the wonderful thing about food memories in particular is that they can be shared so easily by the recreation of a recipe. I have soups, for instance, that are pure memories of my grandma Sylvia and Sunday lunches with the cousins… even the simple act of writing those words has brought back those fun-filled days where a game of hide and seek, a play presented by us kids and one of the cousin’s storming off in a huff was always complimented by a belly full of divine food. This lemon cake has memories for me too as it seems to have always been there in my life, gently regarding our comings and goings like a mute relative absorbing the hectic lives of tea parties, bar mitzvah’s, friday nights, sunday lunches, visits to aunts… and rewarding us with it’s subtle elegance and delicate lemony zing…
… most of all this cake reminds me of my mum.
the lemon cake
mum seems to remember that it was probably an Evelyn Rose recipe which has been doing the rounds since the 1960’s… mum would have probably first started baking it back in the 70’s, hence it’s long-term memory in my life and because it was always such a classic cake it was always made. Mum would usually double the recipe and make two cakes, one to be eaten and one to be frozen as it freezes so well… I have a very clear memory of long drives up to Leeds to visit my mums sister with a block of foil wrapped cake in the foot-well of the car… happy times.
for the sponge
6oz sugar
4oz butter or margarine (mum always uses margarine so if you want her classic taste then I would too..)
2 eggs
6oz self raising flour
4 tablespoons milk
grated rind of 2 lemons
for the topping
1 1/2oz sugar
the juice of one lemon
pre-heat the oven to 180C, grease and line a large loaf tin
in a large bowl cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy then add the eggs and a little flour and beat in. Then add the remaining flour and milk and beat in followed by the lemon rind.
whilst it’s in the oven mix the topping by warming the sugar and lemon juice in a pan
bake for 45 mins or until golden and risen, then the moment it comes out of the oven pour the warm lemon juice over the top and sprinkle with a little sugar – the sugar becomes the most wonderfully intense lemon sherbet topping which is simply fabulous! Leave it to cool completely in loaf tins.
eat and of course, enjoy and happy mother’s day… I love you mum x
I think lemon cake is one of my favourite cake…easy and delicious!
Have a nice Friday
Really lovely post, and such a gorgeous looking cake.
What a nice reflection on the power of food in our family lives, Dom. For me, it's my mom's banana bread and her chicken and dumplings wintertime dinners… such strong memories are attached to both those recipes … I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day celebration with your mum!
What a lovely post, just right for Mother's Day.
A lot of my fondest memories of my mum involve her cooking and I love making the things she used to make.
This cake looks wonderful…..I wonder if it would work in my new fancy cake tin……
I love it, another recipe for my lemon collection. I think we should all have a recipe that reminds us of our mothers!
This cake proofs again, that simple is the best. Great looking lemon cake Dom! My mom used to bake just with margarine, too.
You can never have too many lemon cake recipes. I shall have to give this a test out myself, purely for research purposes, you understand!
Great memories, just how it should be!
This is one beautiful cake, so moist and enticing!
this cake looks wonderful I think I will make it for my parents 🙂
How lovely. How lovely to make something with such great memories attached
What a lovely cake, the family recipes always seem to be the best ones. Tried and tested over many years and lots of happy memories of eating them 🙂
Sounds wonderful dom! It may be simple but sometimes the simplest things are the best. I don't know what it is with mums, they just always know best don't they. Of course, memories of my mum's food is quite different from yours, my mum couldn't bake for nuts! That's what makes this extra special to yourself 🙂 x
Such a perfect cake – sometimes you can't beat the simplicity of a slice of lemon cake. Lovely!
That lemon cake looks absolutely perfect Dom. Loved hearing about all those memories tied up with it. I wonder if each newly created loaf carries the collective memories of all the others – what a great family memento that would be.
Simple. Classic. Perfect.
It looks gorgeous Dom, and such lovely memories too!
Looks delicious. Nothing beats a good lemon cake. Will be adding it to my list of bakes to try!
Laura
http://thepinchofsaltadventures.blogspot.co.uk/
I LOVE lemon cake on all forms and your mum's recipe here is very similar to my mum's and therefore I KNOW that it will be stunning! Lovely memories too……I think certain food resonates with memories……Karen
Made three small ones from your recipe and just took one to my very elderly mum. She was absolutely delighted and thought it was DELICIOUS. Thank you!
Fran
I must try your recipe! I crave any lemon cake or pie or cookie or scone . . . well, you've got the idea! I found your blog over on Susan Lindquist's blog and thought I'd give you a visit! Love it and now following! Hope you'll stop by someday too. I made a lemon and olive oil cake in February and it was a good one too!
That looks great and so easy. My friend made one like this yesterday and it was yummy.
We have just made banana muffins but next time Melly wants to put her apron on we'll do this.
Great recipe! I found this while searching to make an orange cake, so I just substituted the lemons for an orange and added the juice of it in too and it came out beautifully.
Added chocolate chips into this and the result was divine ^_^