Lemon sponge cake makes for a wonderful option for tea time or brunch with friends and family. And this version is super easy to make, tastes refreshing and delicious and is very easy to make. This is a homemade version that is super comforting to say the least.
You need a handful of ingredients and a few techniques to get perfectly moist and melt in the mouth sponge cake every single time. It all comes together in a single bowl. And I am also going to show you how to make the perfect lemon drizzle to pour on top of this cake. It’s like a match made in heaven!
Since this is a sponge cake, butter is one of the prime ingredients. Along with butter, we will use eggs, flour, sugar, lime juice, vanilla extract, and lime zest. That’s all that we need. Now let’s look at the little things that we need to consider to make this an unforgettable sponge cake every time you make it.
How to Make the Best Sponge Cake
There are a few basic tricks that can help you make a perfectly fluffy and moist sponge cake at home. It is no rocket science, just a few chemistry lessons up your sleeve. Almost all of them have to do with temperature. Let’s take a look.
- Butter must be at room temperature
One of the most important factors to get a really good sponge cake is the way the butter is treated. Firstly, the butter has to be at room temperature. Make sure you take it out of the refrigerator well in advance so that it becomes soft. This soft butter then needs to be beaten until it acquires a creamy and luscious texture. This takes about four to five minutes. And the softer the butter, the better the sponge cake.
- Eggs must be at room temperature and fresh
Eggs are used in this lemon sponge cake recipe. Eggs help bind the batter together and also add a lot of moistness and density to the cake. Make sure your eggs are also at room temperature and they are fresh.
- Timing matters
Dairy and acidic elements like lime do not like each other. Adding lime to any dairy product exposes it to splitting immediately. That’s why the timing and the sequence of adding the ingredients matters a lot. For instance, the lime juice is added right in the end once the flour and the sugar are well combined. Adding the lime straight to the butter can make it split in no time. So make sure you follow the sequence.
Lemon Sponge Cake in One Bowl
This lemon sponge cake comes together in one bowl. An electric mixer is a requirement to get the best out of this cake, otherwise, you will have to whisk the butter with your hand for a long time. The batter comes together very quickly and you do not need to spend hours in the kitchen to get something out.
Because this is such a simple cake, we also make a lemon drizzle as the topping. It is a super simple hack to elevate the taste of the cake to a whole new level. With just two ingredients, this lemon drizzle tastes refreshing and will shock you with how something so easy can be so good.
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Bake time – 30-40 minutes
Serves – 12
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
- 200 g all-purpose flour (1 1/2 cups approx)
- 4 large eggs
- 200 g butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 2 limes
- 150 g granulated sugar (1/2 cup approx)
- Juice of 7 lime (for the drizzle)
- 1 cup icing sugar [/ingredients]
[directions title=”Directions”]
- Grease your baking tray with oil or butter and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
- Take the butter in a large bowl and beat it for 4-5 minutes till it acquires a creamy and pale color.
- Add the granulated sugar and beat for another 2-3 minutes.
- Once the mixture is creamy, add the flour, eggs and vanilla essence. Beat till you get a smooth batter.
- Add in some fresh lime zest and lime juice. Mix.
- Add the baking powder right in the end and gently mix it all together with a spatula.
- Transfer the batter to the baking tray.
- Bake at 180-degree celsius for 30-40 minutes till you see a crusty top. You know your cake is done when it starts to come off the parchment paper.
- Allow the cake to cool completely. In the meanwhile, make the lemon drizzle.
- For the drizzle, squeeze out the juice of around 7 limes. Make sure there are no seeds. Add 1/4th cup of icing sugar in four batches, and keep whisking till you get a thick greyish liquid.
- Serve the cake with the drizzle on top and garnish with some mint leaves. Enjoy! [/directions]
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Happy cooking!
