Light fluffy and deliciously tangy this lemon cake is the perfect desert for any occasion. Moist and tender this lemon cake recipe is like a ray of sunshine . Made from scratch with real ingredients such as freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest , this cake is full of flavour and is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Unlike some cakes this is not overly sweet and the tanginess of the curd helps balance every thing out . Every one will love the brightness and lightness of the cake . If you like lemon based desserts try my lemon cake recipe .

Ingredients  for the cake :

1 . Sugar – 1 cup .

2 . Vegetable oil – 1/2 cup .

3 . Lemon zested – 2 .

4 . Lemon juice – 1/4 cup .

5 . Curd ( yogurt ) – 3/4 cup .

6 . Egg – 2 large ( at room temperature ) .

7 . All purpose flour ( maida ) – 2 1/2 cup .

8 . Baking powder – 1 tbsp .

9 . Salt – 1 tsp .

Ingredients for lemon syrup :

Water – 1/4 cup .

Sugar – 2 tbsp .

Lemon juice – 2 tbsp .

Ingredients for lemon glaze :

Powdered sugar – 2 cup .

Lemon zested and juiced – 1 .

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F . Grease a nine inch cake tin and lined it with parchment paper . Set aside .

2 . In a medium mixing bowl sift together flour , baking powder and salt . Keep aside .

3 . In a big mixing bowl , use an electric hand mixer, combine together oil , sugar , curd at medium speed until creamy and fluffy . Now add lemon juice and lemon zest and combine well .

4 . Add the eggs , one at a time then beat on medium speed until combined well .

5 . Now add about one third of flour mixture at a time and with a help of spatula mix and combine. Repeat another one third part of flour mixture and combine, ending with the last third of the flour, combine together just incorporated .

6 . Scrape the batter in to the prepared cake tin and bake for 55 – 60 minutes or until the cake done and tooth pick comes out clean . Baking times vary so keep an eyes on yours .

7 . Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in cake tin .

8 . In a small pan heat together water, lemon juice and sugar let it boil to 1- 2 minutes and make lemon syrup .

9 . Carefully invert the cake tin and transfer the cake to cooling rack then prick it with tooth pick , then brush the syrup on the cake while it still warm .

10 . Heat the pan mix the powder sugar , lemon juice and lemon zest until the sugar is dissolved and form a thick glaze .

11 . Spread the glaze on top in an even layer. Let it cool completely. Cut into desired pieces and enjoy eating .

Note :

1 . When zesting the lemon, make sure only to zest the yellow parts . The white layer underneath is bitter .

2 . To let more juice from the lemons roll them under your hand on the counter top to loosen the juice .

3 . If you have sour cream you can use instead of yogurt ( curd ) .