Lemon Cake

I took some time off yesterday and totally spaced writing any blog posts. I like having home time be home time but I hate forgetting to keep up here. Today I am sharing a lemon cake recipe I created a few weeks back. I love lemon cake - so much so that I asked for it for my wedding. My mom makes an awesome cake with lemon cream cheese frosting but she cheats and uses a cake mix. Her frosting is a homemade cream cheese frosting with lemon extract. This cake is a little drier and denser than a cake mix but comes together just as easily. Note that I use lemon juice and extract. That gave the cake an extra punch of lemon. Lemon extract is finiky. It doesn't always come through. The best way to add lemon extract to a recipe is to stir it in with the eggs. The protein in the eggs helps preserve the flavor so it doesn't bake out.

Lemon Cake
1 cup butter
1 ¾ cup sugar
4 eggs
1 TB lemon extract
1 teas vanilla
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup milk
1 TB baking powder
3 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, mixing lemon extract into eggs before mixing into butter and sugar. Beat smooth. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Add baking powder. Beat well. Alternate flour and milk as you add them into the batter. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until firm.