Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a deep 20cm cake pan with baking paper.
Beat butter, lemon zest and sugar in a bowl until creamy and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition for a couple of minutes until the mixture is light and creamy.
Sift flour over the egg mixture. Add juice and beat for a few seconds. Add milk and beat until well combined.
Pour in prepared tin. Tap the tin on the worktop to settle the batter. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes until golden and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
Remove cake from oven and allow to cool in the tin completely. Dust with icing sugar. Cut into slices and enjoy.
The cake keeps well in a cool corner of the kitchen for up to 2 days. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. When eating out of the fridge, remember to warm the slices up for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Notes
Butter - I use salted butter for this recipe. It adds a touch of salt which lifts the sweetness of the cake. You can use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt to your batter when you first start mixing.
Eggs - I use medium organic eggs, each approximately 65g in weight. Remember to use the freshest eggs for the best cake.
Sugar - I use raw caster sugar (also known as turbinado sugar) for this recipe. It is minimally refined to retain the molasses and colour which deepens the beautiful colour of the cake while adding a slight caramel tone. You can use regular white caster sugar for this recipe if you can't find raw sugar.
Flour - This recipe uses self-raising flour. You can substitute with regular plain white flour or cake flour but you must remember to also add 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Milk - I use low-fat milk for this recipe. You can use full-fat milk, soy milk or even buttermilk. The buttermilk will add an extra layer of beautiful tang to the cake.
Meyer Lemons - Meyer lemons are sunny yellow with thin skin that can be easily zested. Their flesh is sour and sweet and considered a cross between a lemon and an orange. They are perfect for baking and desserts. If you can't find Meyer lemons, use regular lemons (Eureka or Lisbon). The regular lemons are more tart and acidic so you might have to increase sugar by a quarter cup.
Baking Tins - I have baked this easy lemon cake in three different-sized tins with excellent results. My baking tins are rectangle loaf shape (22cm X 11cm X 7cm high), round (20cm X 7cm high), round (18cm X 11cm high). For all three pan sizes, I use the same recipe as above (no change to quantities, baking time or temperature).
Storage - The lemon cake keeps well at room temperature in a cool corner for up to 2 days. To keep it for longer, store it in an air-tight-lidded container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To serve from the fridge, warm in microwave for 10-20 seconds.