4 Ingredient Lemon Cake
This unique lemon cake is perfect to serve for special events like holiday brunches, family gatherings and more. It is just 4 ingredients. The cake is light and airy and has a delicate sweet crackly crust.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, straight from fridge
- 1 cup (195 g) granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup (59 ml) lemon juice + 1 tbsp (5 g) lemon zest
- 1 cup (128 g) all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease the interior of a 7.5 inch round springform pan (you can also use a 7 inch or 8 inch) and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Make sure the sides of the cake pan are thoroughly greased, otherwise the cake will stick to it.
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs and sugar. Beat on highest speed for about 10 minutes or until mixture becomes very thick and turns a very pale yellow, and more than triples in volume. Once you stop beating, the mixture will immediately deflate. This is normal. See notes section for more details.
- Add in the lemon juice and zest. Beat mixture for a few seconds until fully incorporated.
- Use a mesh strainer or flour sifter to sift in 1/3 of the flour into the egg mixture. You need to sift the flour in so that you can incorporate the flour into the egg mixture without deflating too much air from the egg mixture. Use a spatula to fold the flour into the egg mixture. Fold until flour is completely incorporated and you don't see any flour lumps. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour and then the final 1/3.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes (mine was done at 33 minutes). If using a 7 inch pan you may need a little longer and if using an 8 inch pan you may need to reduce the time by a few minutes. The surface of the cake should be light brown. A toothpick inserted should come out clean (be careful when inserting the toothpick as you don't want to break the shell too much. It is very delicate and will crack easily).
- Let cake cool completely before removing. It's best to let the cake cool for several hours as it will make it easier to cut and also will let the shell firm up more. If desired, dust cake with powdered sugar before serving. Cut cake slowly and gently with a sharp knife so that the top shell layer doesn't crack too much and the sponge layer doesn't get squished.
Notes
- The cake needs a few hours to cool. I usually make mine the night before I plan on serving it.
- You need to make sure your eggs are whipped to the right consistency. Your mixture should look like it is about to turn into a meringue and more than triple in volume. When you turn off the beaters, the mixture will sink back down quickly and will become more liquidy and bubbly again. See photo in the post for reference.
- Make sure to gently fold the flour in so you don't deflate the egg mixture too much.
- Be careful not to add too much lemon juice. I found that 1/4 cup was just the right amount without affecting the texture of the cake. You can use less but not more than 1/4 cup.
- I used US standard large eggs.
- You can make this in an 8 inch springform pan but your cake will not be as thick and you will need to reduce baking time.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 173kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 27mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 24g, NET CARBS: 35
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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