Lemon Syrup Cake

One of the cookbooks I got from my sister-in-law the other week is called Chocolate and Baking, which features a large number of recipes that contain, well, you guessed it, chocolate. Of course, the first recipe I tried, perhaps you could see it coming, does not contain chocolate. I do, however, like other things than chocolate, and one of them is lemon, and this looked good. It smells good too, coming out of the oven, all lemony, even more so when you brush the lemon syrup on top of the hot cake. Mmmmm... lemon...

Lemon Syrup Cake
From Chocolate and Baking
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup superfine sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
grated rind 1 large lemon
4 Tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup sunflower oil
For syrup:
4 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice

Lightly grease an 8-inch loose-bottomed round cake pan with butter and line the base with parchment paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl; stir in the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, lemon rind, lemon juice and oil together.

Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients; mix well until evenly combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for about 45-60 minutes, until risen and golden brown.

Meanwhile, to make the syrup, mix together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the mixture starts to bubble and turn syrupy.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick the surface with a knife, then brush the syrup over the top. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before turning out and serving.

Serves 8.