Lemon Snack Cake

I will be the first to admit that I've kind of lost my baking mojo recently.  So much so that my kids have noticed and asked why I don't bake anymore.  Part of me does an inner happy dance because they noticed and appreciate my home baking.  But let's face it ... the end of the school year is fast approaching and I'm in the annual Spring Mama Slump.  I've got my eye on the finish line and not a lot of energy to muster.  

I've given it my all for the last 9 months of the school year baking so my kids can take homemade treats to school but now I've plum run out of steam.  (This is not the first year it has happened -- read up on my rather humourous trials and tribulations of enduring the End Of School Mom Syndrome HERE).  I'm ready for the summer 'no school lunch' schedule!

Another factor that goes against my desire to bake is that Brad and I are  trying to eat better (which hasn't been going too badly).  Baby carrots are ... fine as a snack but if I had some homemade banana bread, brownies or crusty bread you know that would be inhaled in a second so I've backed off on the baking.  

But I know my kids love having homemade snacks in their school lunches so I went on the hunt for some new blog recipe fodder and found this recipe.  I made some tweaks (I'm not a fan of mixing batter in the same pan you're going to bake it in) and I also upped the lemon zest too (you can never had too much in my book) and changed up the glaze too.  

This was a lovely, mild lemon-y cake that was eagerly put into school lunch bags this morning.  Score one for mom!  To all the other mothers in the trenches ... keep your chins up.  Summer is almost here and the school lunch morning frenzy will be a thing of the past ... for a couple of months anyway.

Cake
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
zest from one medium-sized lemon (See Tip below)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup milk

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp fresh lemon juice (the bottled stuff doesn't compare to fresh)

Garnish
Lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix well and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine egg, lemon zest, melted butter and milk.  Gently pour wet ingredients into the flour mixture and lightly stir just until combined (it may look a little lumpy still - that's okay).

Pour mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.  Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.

Glaze
Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth.  Pour over cake and smooth out with the back of a spoon.  Top with lemon zest just before serving, if desired.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Tip: I always use my microplaner to zest lemons (unless I want to see larger pieces of zest).  I tend to like the look of smaller flecks of zest and using the microplaner is a breeze.  I used the microplaner for the zest in the cake and a traditional zester for the garnish on top.

Source:  Inspired by - Land'o'Lakes Lemon Snack Cake

Here are some of my other favourite lemony treats:
Lemon Cranberry Muffins
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lovely Lemon Squares
Lemon Loaf Pound Cake
Strawberry Lemonade Cake