lemon crème fraîche loaf cake
I like a sinful chocolate dessert as much as the next girl, but when it comes to cakes my heart belongs to tea cakes. Victoria sponge, banana bread, lemon poppyseed cake…a slice of any of these and a pot of tea never fails to brighten my day. This light-as-a-cloud lemon loaf cake is bright, citrusy and incredibly moist (thanks to the addition of crème fraîche) – a perfect cake for afternoon tea. At less than 15 minutes to put together (I timed it!) and just under an hour to bake, this will become a family teatime staple in no time!
Lemon Crème Fraîche Loaf Cake
140g (5oz) plain flour
55g (2oz) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
150g (6 tbsp) crème fraîche (or sour cream)
155g (5.5oz) caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
grated zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
3 small eggs
Remove your butter, eggs and crème fraîche from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before you begin.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl, stir in the lemon zest and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl mix the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk on a high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and frothy. Add the cubed butter and continue mixing on medium, until incorporated (a few small lumps here and there is fine). Turn the whisk down to low and add the crème fraîche, mix briefly until it all comes together.
Add in a third of the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined (this should take a matter of seconds – you want to refrain from overworking the batter with each addition of the flour to ensure your cake comes out nice and light). Add another third of the dry mixture, then the lemon juice and whisk gently again, repeat with the remaining flour mixture.
Pour the cake batter into a buttered, lined loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. When ready the cake should be lightly golden on top and a knife or skewer should come out of the cake clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, turn the cake out of the tin onto a cooling rack and leave until it has cooled completely or if you can’t resist, have yourself a cheeky slice (I personally think it’s divine warm).
gourmet traveller 
Beautiful color!!
This looks so moist! The only thing deterring me from making this cake is the unavailability of crème fraîche. But I think I’m just going to use some heavy cream instead. Thanks for sharing this idea!
I wouldn’t use heavy cream as I think it would be too rich, the perfect substitute for it would be sour cream. Let me know how it turns out!
looks gorgeous and brings back memories of childhood. on the short list for the coming weeks…
I kept your email in my inbox until I had peace and quiet because I knew your recipe would speak to me. Does it ever. It looks like the perfect lemon dessert – can’t wait to try it.
My Meyer lemon trees are full of lemons just starting to ripen. I will be making this cake as soon as I can get some juice out of them!
I agree. Great colour! Would love a piece of that…
Love this! Lemon cakes are wonderful!! Can’t wait to try it myself!
I tried this recipe twice, first time as per instruction and the cake was rather dense, somehow like Yogurt cake consistency. I tried again by separating the eggs, reduced the flour and added additional baking powder, a more spongy consistency can be meet.
You’re right, it does come out a bit like a yogurt cake due to the inclusion of crème fraîche. I actually like my cakes a little denser when having with tea but may just try your tweaks next time I make it to see how it turns out – thanks for the tip!
I just made this recipe. Thank you for posting. It is really divine just out of the oven. I did drop in a tad more baking powder which made it more spongy which is nice. Extra buttery. I might like to see how it is with less baking powder and a tad less butter however. I had some creme fraiche to use up and this was the perfect way to use it! YUM!
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