Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake, made with fresh Cream. The Perfect Breakfast or Snack Cake. A fast, easy and Delicious Lemon Cake.
With Christmas right at our doorsteps. I hope you have had fun baking and cooking and that almost everything is done, from shopping to wrapping.
(Since I have updated this recipe from 3 years ago, I can tell you no I haven’t even started shopping let alone wrapping).
And now you can put up your feet at least for an hour or two and relax!
Make yourself a coffee or tea and enjoy the holidays, and of course enjoy a slice of this amazing Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake.
And making this cake again it’s still delicious every time I make it. And of course the Italian reminds me once again that this is his favourite cake!
Wishing you my dear readers and friends a very Happy and Merry Christmas, to you and your family. And thank you so much for continuing to follow An Italian in my Kitchen.
To go along with that coffee or tea I thought I would offer you a piece of this easy Lemon Cake to give you a little energy during this hectic holiday season.
How to Make an Easy Lemon Cake
- Melt butter and let cool completely.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour,baking powder and salt
- In a large bowl beat on medium speed beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the cream into the creamed egg and sugar until completely combined.
- Gently fold in the zest, vanilla, melted butter and lemon juice.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.
- Let cool, then dust with powdered/icing sugar. Enjoy!
Italian cake is a much more compact and a less moist cake than we are used to in North America, although this cake is one of the most moist Italian cakes I have tried.
In fact it has the same texture as my Easy Yogurt Cake it is actually quite similar to a Pound Cake. That’s why it makes the perfect Breakfast / Brunch / Snack Cake.
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
Italians don’t usually serve cake for dessert. Unless of course they make a cake such as a Tiramisu or a Fancy Cake for a birthday.
In fact dessert isn’t very common. They prefer to serve fruit or even a fresh fruit salad.
This type of Easy Lemon Cake is usually served at breakfast or as a treat when someone is coming for coffee or tea, or as I served it, as a delicious Christmas morning cake.
Or slice it in the middle and add a simple filling such as an Italian Pastry Cream , it would make a simple but perfect after dinner dessert, and don’t forget to finish it up with a simple Powdered Sugar Glaze. Delicious.
Lemon Cake
I love lemons, I think it is one of the best citrus fruits for baking. Lemon bread, Lemon Cheesecake or one of my all time favourites, sorbet. I will learn to make the best ever Italian sorbet this year!
And I did make a Lemon Sorbet, just the way my youngest daughter and I like it.
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake is fast and really tasty, all it needs is a little dusting of icing sugar/powdered sugar and it is perfect. Enjoy! And Happy Holidays.
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons butter (melted) (98 grams)
- 2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (268 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch teaspoon salt
- 3 whole eggs (large)
- 1 egg yolk (large)
- 1 3/4 cups icing/powdered sugar (210 grams)
- 2/3 cup whole/heavy or whipping cream (160 grams)
- 1 zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
TOPPING
- 2-3 tablespoons icing / powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius). Lightly grease and flour a 9 1/2 inch bundt cake pan (24 cm) (I'm sure a 9 inch round cake pan would work)
- Melt butter and let cool completely.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt set aside.
- In a large bowl beat on medium speed eggs, yolk and sugar until light and fluffy,
- Gently fold with a spatula the flour mixture, alternating with the cream into the egg mixture, keep folding until mixture is completely combined, then gently fold in the zest, vanilla ,melted butter and lemon juice.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely, then dust with powdered/icing sugar. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Republished from December 24, 2015.
.
Diana says
Hi Rosemary,
Can I use self rising flour for this recipe?
Rosemary says
Hi Diana, no I don’t recommend self rising plain flour is the best. 🙂
Janie says
I just made this and took it out at 40 minutes to test. It was done but it did not brown.
What did I do wrong?
Rosemary says
Hi Janie, make sure your oven is pre-heated to the correct temperature and don’t cut down on the sugar, the sugar also helps the cake brown. Let me know.
Emma says
I’m thinking of making this for Christmas Day, light dessert post-dinner. Can I make it day before and leave on counter or does it have to go in fridge? (My fridge is fast filling up with everything else!) Thanks.
Rosemary says
Hi Emma, no it doesn’t have to be refrigerated for a day, just make sure to cover it (for example a covered cake dish) and it will be fine. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas.
Christina Vasquez says
I followed recipe and was a little concerned it might be dry. While baking I looked at comments and I see some about adjustments for this that I will try next time
It’s still warm and being devoured by my family. When we love a cake it gets a Ratburn rating (Arthur – kids show on PBS) This one is a definite Ratburn. Hope this link works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpIKcHGYPXc
Rosemary says
Hi Christina, thanks so much, so glad everyone liked it. When I first made it it was quite dry (although Italian cakes usually are) I removed a whole egg and substituted with a yolk, that seemed to help a lot. But if it is still too dry then definitely try some other adjustments or even substitute 2 whole eggs for 2 yolks. Let me know. The link is so cute. Love cake!
Donelle L Oda says
Good Morning, I am going to make this recipe today, and I see in the recipe it says 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk. When I read the directions it says to add the eggs to sugar, is that when the extra egg yolk gets added to the recipe?
Excited to make this cake.
Rosemary says
Hi Donelle yes you should add the eggs and yolk, I corrected it. Thanks, I hope you enjoy it, let me know how it goes.
Heather says
This cake looks delicious! I’m planning to make this tomorrow but I prefer to bake with weight vs. the US Customary measurements. I’m clicking on the Metric link and it just reloads the page but with US measurements still. Is it my phone browser or is the link not functioning?
Rosemary says
Hi Heather, I added the metric in grams for you, strange that it doesn’t work, I think it could be on your side, because it is working on mine. Let me know how it goes.
jill kaiser says
I only have granulated sugar – would that work? And if so, how much do you suggest?
Rosemary says
Hi Jill, I wouldn’t advise substituting with granulated because of the difference in texture and also because powdered sugar does contain a little corn starch. Although you could try blending 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of corn starch until powdery, that should work, that would equal 1 cup of powdered sugar. Let me know how it goes if you try that.
Sophia says
I have made this cake about 4 or 5 times for my family, and so far everyone lovesss it. It’s moist, light, flavorful, and airy. Wonderful with coffee or tea in the morning. I add a little bit more heavy cream so the batter is not too dense and it always turns out perfectly. Thank you for this great recipe 🙂
Rosemary says
Hi Sophia thanks so much, and great idea with adding a little extra cream. Have a great Sunday.
Severina says
Hello, this look a beautiful cake. I would like to try and bake one. The problem is you don’t mention grams , which now all kinds of weight are in grams. Here in Europe we don’t really understand cups measurements and it is very frustrating when I want to bake something that gives all the weights in cups. I would be really glad to follow your lovely baking if I could understand the measurements in grams. Thankyou.
Rosemary says
Hi Serverina, yes there is metric, under ingredients there is US Customary – Metric, just click on metric and you will get the gram measurements. 🙂
Heather says
Unfortunately, I have made this twice , it turned out very dry both times. Even had it in the oven for less baking time.
Rosemary says
Hi Heather, yes Italian cakes are on the drier side, that’s why they are eaten with a cup of tea or espresso. If you wanted to give it a 3rd try, try making it with 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks, that should moisten it up a bit. Let me know.
Jaime says
Hi, can this cake be frozen and thawed at a later date?
Rosemary says
Hi Jaime, yes it can, wrap it well in foil or plastic wrap then place it in a freezer safe bag or container. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer. To defrost, remove from the bag and wrapping and let stand at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Hope that helps.
Alisha says
Is it possible to use any other type of sugar rather than icing sugar?
Rosemary says
Hi Alisha, you could try using a fine granulated sugar. I have only made the cake with icing sugar though.
Charlotte Wolfe says
Wow, this is one really GREAT cake. Light and delicious. Follow recipe exactly and it will be perfect.