Hey, I don’t make up the rules, but if it says Breakfast Cake, is it really a cake? I was sent this recipe by one of my followers on social media (thanks Judy!). It is a Lemon Crumble Breakfast Cake. It had a lot of boxes checked off from my list, lemon – check, crumble – check, breakfast – check (let’s just stop here), works for me!!
One of the few things I changed in the recipe was the addition of lemon citrus sugar (it’s just lemon – or orange or lime, zest and sugar rubbed together while the oils in the zest are still fragrant) instead of plain sugar. This was in addition to the zest called for in the recipe. I always have some type of citrus sugar in the house – for me, it’s a baking staple. This is packed with the flavor of lemons and if you are missing the heat of summer, this is a nice “get ready for …” breakfast cake to make. I made this and took it to a friends house over the weekend. They were kind enough to send me pictures the next day (thanks Deb!). I couldn’t take a cut cake to their house and I hadn’t tasted it yet so not sure if I was going to blog it, but it tasted great and looked wonderful with the crumble topping – trust me :)!
This is a make any time any day simple cake but one that can also hold it’s own as a dinner party dessert as well. I’ve listed some ideas in the “Well Why Not” section below. Make and enjoy this “breakfast” treat! There is still a pandemic going on, you know the rules! Stay safe. As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
For the Crumble Topping:
⅓ cup lemon citrus sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (56g or 2oz)
¾ cup all-purpose flour (100g)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the Lemon Cake:
¾ (170g) cup lemon citrus sugar
2 lemons, zested and juiced – divided
2 cups/(252g) all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
½ cup/(113g or 4oz) unsalted butter room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ tsps vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
½ cup/(4oz) buttermilk well shaken
¼ cup/(2oz) fresh lemon juice from above
powdered sugar for dusting if desired
Instructions
For the Crumble Topping:
- Combine the lemon sugar, juice and melted butter – mix well
- Add the flour, mix with a fork – set aside
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325f and lightly grease the bottom and sides of 9” square or 8” round pan with butter; line the bottom with parchment paper – dust with 1 tbsp of lemon sugar – set aside. I like height in my cakes so I used an 8” round pan, reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes or so if you are using a larger square or round pan
- In a small bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder – set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and lemon sugar for 3 minutes on medium high speed – the mixture should be light and fluffy, scrape the bowl as needed
- Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition – again, scrape the bowl as needed
- Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated scraping down the bowl as needed
- In a measuring cup combine the buttermilk and lemon juice
- Add the flour and buttermilk mixture in 3 additions – 1/3 of the flour with 1/3 of the buttermilk each time, beat on low until incorporated
- At this point, switch to a spatula and mix by hand until well blended
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the batter
- Sprinkle an additional tablespoon of lemon sugar on top of the crumble and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached – Note: my cake was done at 55 minutes, but the crumble still had some raw bits in it, so I switched to broil at the same temperature for 5 minutes (kept an eye on it though throughout)
- Cool the cake completely on a wire rack before running a knife around the edges and flipping out of the pan (unless you used a springform pan)
- Optional – dust with icing sugar before serving
Well Why Not! (Tips and suggestions)
This is a dense cake and would lend itself nicely to being cut into bars – i.e. make it in a 9″ x 13″ pan, a brownie pan
Add fruit to the cake mix – fresh or frozen (do not thaw) – blueberries are always my favorite go to
Add sliced almonds to the crumble
Make a curd to serve with the cake – lemon curd would just take this to another level
Leave off the crumble and frost the cake, middle and top
