Lemon Cake

This is a simple leavened cake flavoured with fresh lemons and raisins. To make it we used organic lemons and included both the juice and zest. By adding raisins, which we are used to seeing in ricotta cakes, we’ve made this tea loaf original and unusual. It can be cut into slices and served for breakfast and snacks. It’s good for adults too, as a dessert, if served with a drop of liqueur. With its extreme simplicity and versatility it’s a cake you can make every week. You can also put a slice every day in your children’s backpacks so that they have a healthy homemade snack whilst at school.

Soak the raisins in warm water. Meanwhile, put the softened butter (at room temperature) and the sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is puffed up and frothy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing them uniformly. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash the lemons, grate the zest (yellow part only) and squeeze their juice. Combine the juice and zest with the butter and sugar mixture. Add the drained raisins and sift in the flour. Separately, beat the egg whites until stiff with a pinch of salt, then fold them into the mixture a little at a time, stirring from top to bottom and vice versa. Grease and flour a rectangular loaf tin, pour the mixture in carefully, level off and cook it for 50 minutes. Let it cool completely before tipping out and serving.