Sourdough Lemon Cake
Sourdough Lemon Cake is a delicious summery pound cake made with butter, eggs, and sourdough discard. Lemony and soft, it can be made and baked quickly, with or without poppy seeds.
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 278kcal
Equipment
- Mixer
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 3 eggs large
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sourdough discard
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup icing sugar sifted
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Using a mixer, cream the butter with the sugar. It should take between 8 and 15 minutes to cream the butter.
- If using a stand mixer, you might need to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl 2 or 3 times for the butter to cream evenly.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Wait for each egg to be fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next.
- Add sourdough, lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract, and poppy seeds (if using), mixing until the ingredients are incorporated into the batter. The batter might curdle after adding the lemon juice, but don’t worry: it will come together again after adding the flour.
- Add the flour and baking powder, mixing until there are no dry spots left.
- Careful not to overmix! When adding flour, I stir with a spoon instead of using a mixer to avoid overmixing. Mixing too much after adding flour can make a tougher cake.
- The batter will be thick. With the help of a spatula, pour the batter into the lined baking pan, leveling it before baking.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs.
- When ready, wait 10 minutes and remove the cake from the loaf pan, letting it cool on a cooling rack.
- Wait for the cake to fully cool before glazing it, or the glaze might not set properly. Sift the icing sugar.
- Mix icing sugar, lemon juice, and milk, stirring until combined.
- Pour the lemon glaze over the lemon loaf, waiting a few minutes for it to set before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Creaming the butter correctly makes a huge difference: it makes a taller, softer pound cake, so don’t skip this step. Cream it until white and fluffy.
- Don’t worry if your batter curdles when adding the lemon juice. It will come together when adding the flour, just keep going!
- Line the loaf pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier for you to remove the loaf after baking and prevent the bottom of the bread from browning too much.
- Use room temperature ingredients for this recipe to work properly. Butter creams better when it’s at room temperature. Leave the butter out of the fridge for about an hour before starting this cake.
- If you add too much lemon juice or milk when making the glaze, it will take longer for it to set. If the glaze is too runny, add more icing sugar to make it thicker.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1.284IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 5mg
