Lemon Cake with Rosemary Glaze
This 6-inch Lemon Cake with Rosemary Glaze recipe might be small, but the lemon flavor paired with rosemary glaze makes it's a great snack cake to serve.
Servings 8
Calories 390kcal
Ingredients
Cake
- 110 grams / 2 large eggs room temperature
- 50 grams / ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 50 grams / ¼ cup superfine/caster sugar
- 80 milliliters / ⅓ cup lemon juice 2 medium lemons
- 5 grams / 1 tablespoon lemon zest finely chopped
- 80 milliliters / ⅓ cup olive oil
- 175 grams / 1 cup + 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 50 grams / ½ cup ground almonds
- 80 grams / ½ cup polenta
- 4 grams / 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 grams / 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Lemon soak
- 45 grams / 3 tablespoons water
- 14 grams / 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 30 grams / 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Glaze
- 170 grams / 1 ½ cups confectioners/icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 45 grams / 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F and greaseproof a cake tin.
- Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes on medium with a hand beater.
- Add the lemon juice, zest and olive oil and beat until smooth and combined on medium, approximately 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl, place the flour, ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and soda and pinch of salt and stir to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the lemon mixture and beat on low until just combined.
- Pour into the prepared cake tin and tap the edges slightly to remove air bubbles from the mixture.
- Place in the oven and bake until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean, 30 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
Lemon soak
- Place the water, sugar and rosemary sprig into a saucepan and simmer until it has reduced slightly and smells fragrent.
- Remove from the heat, take the sprig out and add the lemon juice to the rosemary soak, stirring to combine.
- Remove the cake carefully from the tin and while still warm, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- Pour the soak mixture slowly and steadily over the cake while still warm.
Glaze
- For the rosemary glaze, place the confectioner's sugar, rosemary and water into a bowl and combine until smooth and silky.
- Pour onto the still warm cake so the icing melts into it, spreading the glaze on the sides with an offset spatula to cover over any patches.
- Allow to cool fully before serving.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- Strong lemon flavor: The tart and zesty lemon flavor in this is quite strong, which is exactly how I like it, however, if you want it to be more subtle you could limit the amount of lemon juice to ¼ cup.
- Lemon: Verna lemons were most easy to source for this recipe, but honestly, any unwaxed lemon you have on hand works. You will want the skin to be as blemish free as possible for the zest.
- Cake tin: The tin used here was 6 inches or 15 centimeters, so the cake ends up higher. You can use a larger cake tin up to 20cm or 8 inches for a slice that isn't too flat.
- Rosemary taste in the glaze: The rosemary adds a subtle but distinct flavor to the glaze. It perfectly complements the tangy-sweet flavors of the lemon cake, creating a unique and delightful taste.
Nutrition
Calories: 390kcal