If sweet and tart go hand in hand in your life, this is the perfect cake for you. The rich taste of cocoa meets with the zing of lemon for a unique flavored cake.
This lemon cake is delicious, but it may help to know that If lemon is the last flavor you want in your baking, you can also make this cake with orange. Simply substitute orange yogurt, juice, and zest for the lemon. Or, if yours is an adventurous kitchen, you can try it with two different kinds of fruits.
Lemon Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 c. cake flour
- 1/2 c. cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 2 oz. semisweet chocolate
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 c. lemon yogurt (such as Yoplait Lemon Burst)
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon zest
- 3/4 c. sugar
Directions
- Arrange the oven rack in the center and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9 inch cake rounds.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder, then sift the mixture onto a piece of wax paper and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the butter and whisk until bright yellow in color. Fold in the yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Be sure to mix this very well. It should have a very smooth consistency and be a pale yellow in color. Check to ensure that the taste is to your liking. Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed, but not too much, or the cake will be too liquidy.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. If your kitchen supplies don't include a double boiler, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiling water, or microwave at 30 second increments at medium heat until the chocolate is smooth and melted evenly.
- Slowly add the chocolate to the egg mixture, so as to avoid cooking any of the egg. A few spoonfuls at a time will do fine.
- Add the dry ingredients in small portions, about a fourth at a time. Stir until just blended in. Pour the batter into the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
- This cake also looks great as a bundt cake or can be baked in a 9x11 inch sheet pan. For a bundt cake, cook for about 30-35 minutes, and for the sheet pan, about 20-27 minutes, depending on the oven. The bundt cake looks most elegant for parties, but the rest also look great for entertaining.
- Allow the cake to cook completely, then frost with either a chocolate or lemon frosting. Garnish the cake with lemon candies, candied lemon wedges, or even plain lemon wedges.
The copyright of the article Lemon Chocolate Cake in Dessert Recipes is owned by Mary Peach. Permission to republish Lemon Chocolate Cake in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
