Aja's Lemon Tea Cake

I haven't done a whole lot of baking with lemon in the past (hmm, come to think of it, I'm not sure I'd ever baked with lemon prior to yesterday), but I have a feeling it's going to become much more of a regular occurrence from here on out. Just in the past few days, I've come across so many delicious-looking lemony recipes that I'm excited to try out, plus there's just something so refreshing about lemons that makes them even more fun to use (I know, that was an obvious statement - lemony fresh! - but still. It's true.).

Anyway, one of my lovely coworkers had a birthday on Sunday, so I told her I would bake her something in celebration. Her only request was that it have lemon in it, and so I commenced my perusal of several different food blogs in quest of an idea. I finally narrowed it down to two choices: lemon tarts and lemon tea cake, both of which looked amazing, and then after much deliberation (and due to time constraints and lack of tart molds), I decided to make the cake. (I do, though, plan on acquiring tart molds at some point in the near future and giving the other recipe a try!)

I took a few pictures while I was baking and then after the cake was finished, but none of them turned out very well, so if you want to see what the cake actually looks like, click on the link above for photos from the blog where I originally found this recipe (I can almost guarantee they'll make your mouth water).

This was a pretty easy recipe to make, and I think it turned out pretty well. Next time, though, I'll be sure to chop the lemon zest more; I personally wasn't a fan of getting chewy bites of it from time to time. But anyway, here's the recipe:

Lemon Syrup Tea Cake

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup + 1 tablespoon self-rising cake flour*

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons milk

* You can also substitute 3/4 cup + 3/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt for the self-rising cake flour.

For the syrup:

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 4 tablespoons)

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

To make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and line the loaf pan with parchment paper (note: parchment paper and wax paper are NOT the same).

2. Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, beating well.

3. Sift in the flour and salt, folding in gently. Add the milk; combine well.

4. Spoon the cake batter into the loaf pan.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden.

To make the syrup:

1. While the cake is baking, combine the lemon juice and confectioners syrup in a saucepan.

2. Heat until sugar dissolves completely; set aside.

Putting them together:

1. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, puncture all over the top with a toothpick.

2. Pour the syrup over the cake.

3. Allow to cool before removing from pan to avoid crumbling. (I was a little pressed for time and didn't let it cool all the way; it did indeed crumble. Oh well.)

Enjoy!