I woke up at 8 am Saturday morning because I had to work till 2 pm, life does suck at times. I wasn’t feeling well, but I was craving something sweet and light. My work was on and off so I decided to bake on this cold, windy, and rainy day. I kept thinking what do I need to use up, and I remembered how I had a couple lemons lying around, so I thought, Lemon Cake. I hunted for a recipe and found one that used 1 stick of butter… I knew I had to trim down the fat.
This cake has a very slight butter flavor, it is spongy, light, and lemony. This is the perfect cake for a rainy day or a lovely spring day… I’ll say just about anything for a slice of cake. After I was done working and baking, I woke up from an afternoon nap and had a cup of tea with a slice of cake. My husband was my taster and he really enjoyed this cake, he ate 4 slices in one sitting… SIGH! I hid the rest from him 🙂 I plan on seeing my family tomorrow so I’ll get more feedback, they are a tough crowd to please. - I used 1 cup of All Purpose Flour and 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. This adds some fiber to the cake without altering the taste of the cake.
- I used 2% milk, and added another 1/4 cup to the recipe.
- Instead of 8 tbsp of butter, I used 6 tbsp. Next time, I plan on using 4.5 tbsp.
- I used 1 cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup, YES, you heard me, 1 cup. I skipped the glaze all together.
- Lastly, I used 2 eggs and 1 egg white.
APPROXIMATE NUTRITION PER SERVING (yields 12 generous slices)
Calories: 181 cals
Fat: 6.7 g
Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
Carbs: 28 g
Protein: 3 g
Fiber: .67 g
LEMON BUTTER CAKE – REDUCED FAT (inspired by Gourmet)
- All Purpose Flour – 1 cup
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – 1/2 cup
- Baking Powder – 1.5 tsp
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Butter – 6 tbsp (room temperature)
- 2% Milk – 3/4 cup
- Lemon Zest – zest of 1 lemon
- Eggs – 2
- Egg White – 1
- Sugar – 1 cup
- Vanilla Extract – 1/2 tsp
3. In a separate bowl, stir the milk, vanilla, and lemon zest.
4. Beat the butter and sugar for 3 minutes until blended.
5. Add 1 egg at a time and blend well.
6. Add the flour and milk mixture in 3 batches, alternating between the two. Start with the flour and end with the flour. DO NOT OVERMIX.
7. Pour the batter into a cake pan. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool.
9. Garnish with powdered sugar.
OVERALL RATING: ****/5
Texture: The texture of the cake is light, spongy, crumbly, and soft. The next day I felt as though the texture was a bit tough, this is why I gave this cake 4 stars, instead of 5.
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Hi,
Can I substitute Whole Wheat Pastry Flour with All Purpose Flour since I don't have pastry flour? Also, what is the use of pastry flour?
Thanks!
@Anonymous – yes, that will taste even better. I added WWPFlour for health reasons. 🙂
Hi,
I tried the recipe with 1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour and added 3 eggs instead of 2 eggs and 1 egg white. It turned out awesome! This was my first successful cake attempt and you can guess my happiness! 🙂 Like you mentioned, the cake was spongy, moist and had a hint of lemony flavor. I did not put any icing on the cake and had it just like that. My hubby absolutely loved the cake and asked me to make it again 🙂 I would rate the cake 5 stars cos the cake tasted even better the next day. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Please post more of these non-chocolate cake recipes 🙂
– Shubha