Lemon Sour Cream Cake

As the days are getting shorter and colder here in NZ its always nice to have the bright flavour of lemons to lift the spirits . This yummy moist cake is defiantly a favourite !
I love lemons and still remember when I first tasted this gem , it was like a velvet , lemon curd that wasn't to sweet or to tart in fact - PERFECT !
I had to have the recipe ... Apparently it is Julie Le Clerc recipe , I have never seen original copy or what book it is from , as it was handwritten out my a dear friend who had made it and passed on & quickly stuck into my ' little black book ' of recipes .
Every great cook or baker has one of these , if you dont I suggest making one for all those hand down , found , cut out , scribbled down recipes .... such a great tapastry which I hope to pass down to my boys one day.
 Any way before I get all sentimental over my recipe book , the lemon cake ! I always use natural yoghurt instead of sour cream . Totally up to you here , I prefer yoghurt and have made with sourcream but think yoghurt offers a nicer texture . Never forget the lemon syrup at the end this is what give the cake a moist tangy sweet yumminess . I also omit the lemon essence from the original - cant see why you would need it . I hope you have a lovely friend like I do that has a unlimited supply of lemons from her tree for me ! Anytime I make this I am asked for the recipe ... such a wonderful dessert

Lemon Sour Cream Cake

125 grams Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
Finley Grated zest of one lemon
1/2 Cup sour cream or natural unsweetend yoghurt
3 Eggs
1 Cup plain Flour
1 tsp Baking powder

Lemon Sugar


juice of 3 lemons
1/2 Cup caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 160 c , grease and flour a smallish cake tine
2. Cream soft butter , sugar until pale , Beat in zest , eggs and sour cream or yoghurt
3. Fold in sifted ingredients till just mixed pour into tin , bake for 30 - 40 mins until top is golden and a skewer come's out clean ( while its cooking , mix lemon juice & sugar in a small jug )
4. Remove from oven , stab cake all over with skewer and pour over lemon sugar
5. Leave in tin till cool and turn out onto plate , pile high with fresh whipped cream or Greek yogurt

Banana Yoghurt Cake

There has been far too much biscuit posting on here lately, so before I post yet another biscuit I will share my easy as, never fail, sure to please banana cake !
It always seems that in the fruit bowl there are always a couple of sad looking bananas hanging round. So living in the philosophy of ' waste not want not ' they always end up in my cake !
I am not a huge fan of banana cakes but my family eat them & I will force myself to consume a piece , every now and then at my own peril.
This recipe comes from a oldish cook book called ' quick 'n' easy cakes & muffins , biscuits , slices & more'  by Robyn Martin , which if you click the link was a best seller in its time ( 1991 ) she is still a wonderful publishing NZ baker.
I have had this book since I was around 12, and it has been used & used, with splattered pages, a great testament to any cookbook .  There is no creaming or complicated instructions and it turns out every time, which is why as a novice baker I liked it !
She suggests a lemon yoghurt icing , but I prefer a coffee icing - with walnuts stuck on top ( which the kids always pick off ). You can even get away with no icing if you are rushed or lazy!
A simple dusting of icing sugar will do the trick .

Banana Yoghurt Cake

150 g Soft butter
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Cup mashed banana ( around 3 ripe )
Grated rind of one lemon ( finely grated )
1/4 plain sweetened or unsweetend yoghurt ( or any flavour you have lurking in the fridge )
2 Cups flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda

Coffee Icing

1 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp boiling water ( more to mix )
1 tsp butter
Around 2 cups icing sugar

1. Turn oven  to 180 c -Place butter sugar, eggs, banana, lemon rind and yoghurt in a mixer bowl & mix on low speed to combine ( can always be done by hand , no worries )
2. Sift in flour, baking powder and baking soda
3. Beat on low speed to combine then increase speed & beat for 2 mins
4. Pour into greased or paper lined tin , 18 cm
5. Bake for 45 - 60 mins until skewer comes out clean - it will be quite brown, dont worry !
6. Leave in tin for 10 mins before turning out onto rack , Ice when cool

Coffee icing

1. Sift icing sugar into bowl
2. Melt instant coffee in boiling water
3. Add instant coffee with butter and start to stir adding more boiling water in small amounts till you have a nice consistency to ice (  consistency of soft butter )
4. Spread it on cake & throw on some walnut half's if you like , any nut will work !