Lemon Drizzle Cake｜檸檬糖霜蛋糕

實在忘不了第一次邂逅 Lemon Drizzle Cake ——— 孩子的繪畫老師十分熱衷於烘培，每次上課孩子們都能期待各種不同凡響的甜品下午茶，而我每次送她上課和下課時都能順走幾塊甜品。不久前吃了她做的檸檬糖霜蛋糕，驚為天人，於是我不斷從旁推敲看她願不願意祭出食譜，她很爽快地就說了用的就是 Merry Berry 奶奶的經典食譜 —— 不過，她的是減糖版。

繼上一篇迷你水果撻食譜，這個網站荒廢了接近兩年。托檸檬糖霜蛋糕的福，讓我再次萌發仔細撰寫烘培紀錄的欲望。

食譜無難度，用的也是基礎烘培器材，仔細讀了兩遍以後便開始做心理建設（這是職業習慣，無論做什麼都會先在預想裡走幾遍的製作流程）。

檸檬糖霜蛋糕所需食材 / Lemon Drizzle Cake Ingredients

225克無鹽奶油 / 225g (8 oz) butter , softened
225克細糖 / 225g (8 oz) caster sugar
227克自發麵粉 / 275g (10 oz) self-raising flour
2 茶匙泡打粉 / 2 teaspoons baking powder
4 個蛋 / 4 eggs
4 湯匙牛奶 / 4 tablespoons milk
2 個檸檬的細磨檸檬皮屑 /finely grated rind of 2 lemons

烘培器材 / Baking Tools and Equipments

準備功夫 / Preparation

清洗或浸泡檸檬 / Clean the lemons thoroughly
磨檸檬皮黃色部分 / grate lemon skin
無鹽奶油砖切块、软化 / cube and soften unsalted butter block

檸檬糖霜蛋糕製作流程 / Lemon Drizzle Cake Baking Process

首先需要清洗兩顆檸檬，一般的做法是用鹽和溫水浸泡，而我則是使用了蔬果清潔劑來清洗。哦，我還特地去 Nitori 買了一把磨茸器（grater）。

我覺得這把太小了，不好使，因為把柄很短，磨檸檬皮時我右手的拇指指甲一直戳到握住磨茸器的左手。磨好放一旁待用。

製作這個蛋糕沒有什麼技術含量，我個人覺得需要注意的事项如下：

牛油一定要提前從冰箱取出，放至足夠鬆軟，但不至於融化成液體型態。
磨檸檬皮一般只取最外層的黃色部分，白色部分一起磨去使用的話成品就會略帶苦澀了。
Mary 女士用的烤盤是 30 x 23 x 4cm 的長型烤盤，在她的圖文食譜裡沒有提起替代的烤盤，但在她的 YouTube 頻道裡就有說如果沒有這麼大的長型烤盤，可以用 20cm 直徑的圓形烤盤（20cm round tin)，或兩個一磅吐司模（1 pound loaf tin）來取代。
- 我没使用檸檬馬鞭草（lemon verbena）
- 我個人不建議採用圓形烤模來烤任何的牛油蛋糕，圓形烤模讓蛋糕中心部位很難熟透，往往等到中間熟透，旁邊又烤得太乾。
- 我覺得烤這個蛋糕的原理就是不能讓它太高太厚，否則很難烤均勻熟透。
- 我用的是 28 x 28 x 4cm 的方形烤盤，也就是平常用來烤瑞士捲的那個。這次用來烤這款蛋糕，效果簡直完美！我覺得如果 Mary 女士也試了，說不定她也會跟我有同樣的想法呢！
- 這款蛋糕開始烤一直到熟成時，都是向上膨脹的動態；如果看見蛋糕表面已經開始回縮，那就可以考慮用根小牙籤戳一下取出摸摸看，看看牙籤體有沒有站上麵糊，只要它蘸上哪怕只有一丁點的麵糊，都說明你還要讓它再繼續烤。
- 不要減糖，雖然奶奶下糖確實很狠，我吃過減糖版和未減糖版，我個人覺得奶奶下的糖量是必須的，否則整個成品就會整個比較偏酸 —- 尤其是糖霜的製作部分，更是半點糖萬分少不得。

Making this cake doesn’t require any advanced techniques, but I personally think there are a few things worth paying attention to:

Make sure to take the butter out of the fridge in advance so it softens properly — it should be soft enough to press easily but not melted into a liquid.
When grating lemon zest, only use the thin yellow outer layer. If you grate too deeply and include the white pith underneath, it will make the cake slightly bitter.
Mary used a 30 x 23 x 4cm rectangular tin. In her photo-and-text recipe, she didn’t mention alternatives, but in her YouTube video, she said if you don’t have a tin that size, you can use a 20cm round tin or two 1-pound loaf tins instead.
I didn’t use lemon verbena in this recipe.
Personally, I don’t recommend baking butter cakes in round tins — they make it hard for the center to cook through. Usually, by the time the center is done, the edges are already overbaked and too dry.
I believe the key to baking this cake successfully is not letting it get too tall or thick. Otherwise, it won’t bake evenly.
I used a 28 x 28 x 4cm square pan — the one I normally use for baking Swiss rolls — and it worked beautifully. Honestly, I think if Mary tried it with this pan, she might agree with me!
This cake rises steadily as it bakes. Once you notice the top starting to shrink back slightly, it’s a sign it might be done. Try poking the center of the cake with a toothpick — if there’s even the tiniest bit of batter clinging to it, it needs more time in the oven.
Don’t reduce the sugar. Yes, the original amount does seem generous, but I’ve tasted both the reduced-sugar and full-sugar versions, and I truly believe the original sweetness is necessary. Otherwise, the cake leans too sour overall — especially the lemon glaze, where even a slight reduction in sugar throws off the balance.

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