Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake

Robbie and I both love lemons! And this cake was moist yet dense and full of lemon flavor. The icing was sweet and tart. The fragrance of the batter is amazing! Next time I will leave out the lemon zest as neither of us are fans of it but it certainly does add to the aroma of the cake. This cake could be eaten in the morning with your coffee or as a dessert. I found myself nibbling on it throughout the entire day. In fact we had already dug into it before I remembered to take a picture!

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake:
Adapted from the joy of baking

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated white sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Lemon Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in the center of the oven.  Butter, or spray with a nonstick spray, a bundt pan or a 9 inch spring form pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 40 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the pan.

Lemon Frosting: In a bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice. (You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thin enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake. If not the right consistency add more lemon juice or powdered sugar accordingly.) Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides. Let the icing set before covering.