Lemon Snack Cake is Your New Go-To Dessert

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A little bit sweet, a little bit tangy, this Lemon Snack Cake is the perfect balance of flavors for a delightful snack or dessert.  Perfect for spring picnics, backyard barbecues, and office potlucks!

I love citrus desserts.  The hubs not so much.  And this is a baked good so I had little hopes that he would enjoy this cake at all.  That’s not a judgement on the cake.  It’s a judgement on his pickiness in his dessert preferences.  If it’s a cake, then according to him it’s only good on that day it’s baked.  And MAYBE the day after.  Otherwise, it’s too dry for him to enjoy.  I, on the other hand, have eaten a piece every day since.  It still tastes moist and delicious to me.

We had a breakfast potluck at work to show appreciation for our unit chief.  We wanted to show appreciation for all the work he’s done in the last year as acting.  I felt inadequate with my little container of lemon snack cake.  Some brought it a platter of Chik Fil A, dozens of doughnuts and bagels.  There was a huge tray of tater tots.  But this little container of snack cake received rave reviews from co-workers.  So, it’s a great recipe for potlucks, backyard barbecues, and office parties.

How many types of lemons can you cook with?

I think there’s like 30+ different types of lemons out there in the world.  But I can’t quite nail down that number and I’m not sure it’s all that important.  There are a few types of lemons to choose from for cooking at the grocery. Lisbon and Eureka are common varieties.  Lisbon lemons are great for zesting and juicing.  Eureka are great for baking including using them whole.  And then there’s Meyer lemons which are less acidic and have a mellow lemon flavor.

How to pick the best lemons for this cake recipe?

I’ve always just grabbed whatever lemons are on the pile.  Which is contrary to how I select most of my other produce.  I weigh the iceberg in my hand to see what’s heaviest.  And that’s sort of how you want to pick your lemons.  You want some that are bright yellow and heavy for their size.  They should have a slight give when you press them gently.  All of these are indicators of juicy, ripe lemons perfect for your cake.

I simply look for the smooth skinned ones which are perfect for juicing.  And I look for the ones with the puckered skins for the zest.  If you’re lucky enough to find both at your same store kudos for you.  There’s usually just one type when I go to the grocery.

What is buttermilk?

Buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter from cultured cream. But since most don’t churn butter by hand, the buttermilk in stores is cultured.  This means that it is fermented to achieve that characteristic tang and thickness.  My grandmother used to drink it daily for all it’s health benefits.  Now, I don’t’ know anyone that drinks it straight up, but I know many who use for it’s delicious baking properties.

Buttermilk is a key ingredient in many baking recipes.  It provides tender texture to your baked goods by helping bakes to rise and balances out the sweetness with an underlying tangy flavor.  I’m like you and don’t want to buy the container.  So, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make a substitute called clabbered milk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk and letting it sit for a few minutes.  You’re not making buttermilk, but a soured milk version that has similar properties as buttermilk.

Milk, buttermilk, sour cream, and yogurt all have different properties and impact to your baked goods.  Milk is great as a general liquid with a little added moisture.  Buttermilk adds a subtle tang and helps achieve a moist texture.  Sour cream and yogurt are very similar and can both add richness and density.  I usually stick to buttermilk when I’m making a snack cake or a quick bread.

Versatility of Lemon Snack Cake

Snack cakes are so versatile and Lemon Snack Cake is no exception. The moist texture and sweet tart flavor is the perfect bite to end your meal with.  It packs well and doesn’t require any refrigeration.  This cake is best served at room temperature making it perfect for backyard barbecues, picnics, family gatherings, or simply as a sweet treat to enjoy with a cup of tea. Its light, fluffy texture and refreshing lemon flavor make it a hit at any event.

Ingredients for Lemon Snack Cake

Outside of the turbinado sugar, you should have everything on hand.  And if you don’t have turbinado you can use granulated or brown sugar in it’s place.

Pantry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, olive oil and turbinado sugar (optional)

Refrigerator ingredients – lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs, buttermilk (or clabbared milk)

Instructions to Make Lemon Snack Cake

First, preheat your oven to 350 F making sure it’s ready when you are.  Next, combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to combine. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sugar with the lemon zest until thoroughly combined.  The sugar will have a golden yellow hue when it’s ready for the next step.  Stir in the juice and olive oil and whisk until combined and the sugar starts to dissolve.  Add the eggs, one at a time whisking between each.  The mixture should be creamy and thick when it’s ready for the next stop.

Add the flour mixture and stir with a spoon until almost completely combined.  A few pockets of flour are okay because you’ll let the batter rest, allowing all the chemistry to happen before popping it into the oven.  Prepare an 8 x 8 square baking pan by lining it with parchment and spraying the parchment with cooking spray or brushing with olive oil.

So, I watched Jamie Oliver the other day.  And he did this trick that I’ve been using ever since.  If you’re like me, you struggle with lining a pan with parchment.  I’ve tried turning the pan upside down and forming it to fit that way.  I’ve measured to cut and fit to the pan.  But none of those have really worked well.  His trick is to wet it.  That way you can form it into any pan.  So that’s what I did.  I wet it, put it into the pan, and then sprayed it with cooking spray before pouring the batter into the pan.  Worked like a charm!

I sprinkled the top with turbinado sugar and baked my snack cake at 350 F for about 45 minutes.  The turbinado sugar makes for a delicious texture on top.  If you don’t have that, then you can use brown sugar or even straight up granulated sugar. 

I wanted to make sure the toothpick wasn’t completely clean when I removed it.  The cake will continue to cook after it comes out of the oven so you don’t want the toothpick to come out completely clean.  It should be a little tacky with maybe a few crumbs on there when you pull it out.

What does this lemon snack cake taste like?

I’ve made a Meyer lemon upside down cake, but this cake is so different.  I am addicted to this cake.  It has a lovely lemon flavor with a moist and delicious crumb.  You cannot taste the olive oil that much.  Actually, I can’t taste it at all, but the richness of this cake is attributed to the oil in the cake.  And it makes it easy to whip this up because you don’t have to melt butter and let it cool and you don’t have to wait for butter to come to room temperature.  I didn’t even wait for the eggs to come to room temperature because they wouldn’t cause the olive oil to solidify like they would with butter.

Everyone at work loved this cake, too.  It has a light lemon flavor with a moist and delicious texture.  The sugar on top provides a nice, lightly crunchy contract to the moist cake.  It seems like a lot of lemon juice and zest, but there’s not a huge lemon flavor.  It’s a delicate cake with a delicate lemon flavor.  And it’s perfect at room temperature which makes it perfect for office parties, backyard parties, or just because you want a small cake to snack on.

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