Desert or Dessert

I admit, it’s not the best way to get your Vitamin C but it sure is one of the most delicious.
A few days ago I saw a recipe for a lemon sheet cake in this German Blog (Koch Banausen) and knew right away that it was time to bake a cake.
I make it a point to keep lemons in the house at all times so there was not need to worry about the stores being closed on a Sunday. Yup you read that right, stores are not open on Sundays in Germany. Sure the Commissary carries lemons too but I have yet to find any organic fruits or vegetables there (packaged ready to eat salad bags don’t count).
I had a few hours all to myself though it really did not take that long to whip up this sheet cake. Since I prepared the night before by leaving some eggs and butter out to come to room temperature I was all set to get started and within 15 min. had that cake in the oven and 20 min. later it was baked. I waited for the cake to cool down than glazed it. I waited with the glaze until after the cool down because I wanted to keep the glaze on top and not for it to soak into the cake. This is a great quick and easy lemon sheet cake. You should give it a try.



Lemon Sheet cake
Ingredients:
350g butter (room temperature)
250g sugar
2 vanilla beans (I used one) ***
6 eggs
2 organic lemons
350g flour
2 tsp baking powder (8g)
250g powdered sugar

Heat your oven to 350F / 180C
Beat sugar and butter until creamy, slowly add one egg after the other until very creamy. Scrape out the inside of the vanilla bean and add to the butter mixture.
Mix flour with the baking powder and add to the butter mixture. Zest the lemons and add to batter.
Butter a cake pan (mine is 16x13 inch) and fill it with the batter evenly. Bake for about 20 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.
After your cake has cooled sift your powdered sugar and mix with the lemon juice from the zested lemons. Glaze your cake with this mixture. Done! Now enjoy the fruits of your labor. Quick and easy lemon sheet cake. I told you so!
For step by step pictures check the “Koch Banause” link above. 

*** You can also use vanilla sugar (exchange 2T of sugar for vanilla sugar). I think vanilla extract would overpower therefore I would not use it. You can easily make your own vanilla sugar by using the empty vanilla beans and simply placing them with some sugar in a jar. Shake from time to time. Add new beans as you use them. They will flavor your sugar for a long time.

This cake went almost all with my husband to work and my son will have found a slice of it in his lunchbox today.