Lemon Cake

Forget about making lemonade when you have lemons. Save them to whip this little beauty up and enjoy the fresh clean zingy taste of lemons in this wonderfully textured cake. Its a double delight with the flavour bursting from the top and bottom of the cake. If anything's worth taking a little tea break for, it's a wedge of this lemon cake.

120         g butter
1        cup fine granulated sugar
2        eggs
2        Tbs lemon zest
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4         tsp baking soda
1/2         tsp baking powder
1/2         tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs  Lemon Juice
100         ml  cream / butter milk
1         tsp vanilla extract

lemon syrup:
1/4           Cup fine granulated sugar
1/4           Cup Lemon Juice

Icing:
1               Cup icing sugar
1 3/4         Tbs lemon juice (enough to make a thick smooth mixture)

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Grease and flour 1 x 8 1/2 inch pan, lining the bottom with baking paper.

Cream, using whisk, butter and 1 cup of fine granulated sugar in bowl till light and fluffy.
Whisking add eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

In another bowl, combine 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice, cream or buttermilk and vanilla.
Whisking together until smooth. Alternately add flour and buttermilk mixtures to batter, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top.
Bake 45 minutes- 1 hour, until tester comes out clean.

When the cake is cooked, cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 1/4 C fine granulated sugar and 1/4 C lemon juice in small saucepan, cooking over low heat until sugar dissolves.

Remove cake from pan and set on wire rack over a larger baking tray (best to set upside down on rack so that syrup is spooned onto the bottom of the cake as it will absorb better than spooning over the top).

Spoon and spread lemon syrup over base of the cake.

Allow the cake to cool completely.

Icing: Combine sifted icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with whisk until smooth.