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Lemon and Caraway Butter Cake
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Claire Ptak made us this elegantly simple cake when we paid her a visit at Violet Cakes, her bakery-café in London. She explained that it is an old-fashioned British teacake known, rather plainly, as “seed cake” and that she first encountered it after moving from the U.S. to England in 2005. In addition to caraway, Ptak also includes lemon zest; its bright, fresh notes lift the richness of the butter, the sweetness of the sugar and the earthiness and anise-like hints of the seeds. She recommends serving the light, tender cake with glasses of Madeira. Leftovers will keep tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to three days.
Makes one
9-inch loaf cake
Don’t forget to fold the batter by hand with a spatula before turning it into the loaf pan. The batter is thick and heavy, so scraping the mixer bowl, especially along the bottom, will ensure the flour mixture is fully incorporated.
1¼ hours
20 minutes active, plus cooling
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280
grams (2⅓ cups) cake flour
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2
teaspoons caraway seeds
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2
teaspoons baking powder
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¼
teaspoon table salt
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214
grams (1 cup) white sugar
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1
tablespoon grated lemon zest
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254
grams (18 tablespoons) salted butter, room temperature
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3
large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
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¼
cup whole milk, room temperature
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01Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Mist a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, then line it with an 8-by-14-inch piece of kitchen parchment, allowing the excess to overhang the long sides of the pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, caraway, baking powder and salt; set aside.
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02In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and lemon zest on medium until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the butter and beat on medium-high until the mixture is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes.
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03With the mixer running on low, beat in the eggs one at a time, adding the yolk with the third egg; beat until combined, about 15 seconds, and scrape the bowl after each addition. With the mixer still running on low, gradually add the flour mixture; mix just until combined, about 45 seconds, then scrape the bowl. Again with the mixer running on low, slowly add the milk; mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Fold the batter by hand with the spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure no pockets of flour remain. The batter will be thick.
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04Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any large air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.
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05Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment and set it directly on the rack. Cool to room temperature. Peel off and discard the parchment before slicing.