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The Bake Off Box is back and April’s box came with a recipe for Lemony Lemon Slices! I think this box has been my favourite so far – I absolutely love this recipe and I adore my new piece of baking equipment – a long-handed zester or microplane! Make sure to check out the review on this month’s box here, the buckle in and hold on tight for the recipe below!
Check out the video here:
Lemony Lemon Slices – They’re just so lemony!
This may sound silly, but these lemony lemon slices are just so lemony! I absolutely loved this recipe and this traybake just tastes so fresh and tangy! Lemon is added to these lemony lemon slices in 4 DIFFERENT WAYS! The cake contains lemon zest and lemon curd (a stroke of genius), is soaked in a lemony sugar syrup and is then topped with more lemon icing! It is REALLY REALLY good!
In addition, the Lemony Lemon Slices are really simple to make! The recipe does use the creaming method which I do think is a little trickier to master, but you can prevent the mixture from curdling by adding some flour with the first addition of the eggs (see recipe below). And then all of the remaining flour is added with the second addition of eggs which makes things a lot easier! If you want to read more about the creaming method and other cake making methods, check out my baking basics post here!
My Twist on the Bake Off Box Lemony Lemon Slices
I have to say, I loved this month’s Bake Off Box recipe – I think it might have been the best one so far! I might even go as far as saying that these Lemony Lemon Slices are even better than my usual Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe! Adding lemon curd to the cake mixture is such a good idea and is something I also did in my Lemon Cupcake recipe! I absolutely love it and would highly recommend it! Because I knew I wanted to share this cake with a friend who is lactose intolerant, I used dairy-free alternatives in this recipe which worked very well!
There are only two small changes I would make to the recipe if I were to make it again (which I will!). One, would be to make more icing for the top as I didn’t think the original recipe made enough. And two, would be to use a slightly larger tin than they recommended. The original recipe called for a 20x30cm tin but I used my standard go-to Brownie Traybake tin which is 20x34cm! Even in this slightly bigger tin I felt like the cake mix just fitted and no more, and the cake was still a very nice height when it came out. So I would advise to use a slightly larger tin, and I can highly recommend this Brownie tin by Masterclass – I use it for all of my traybake recipes!
More Recipes from the Bake Off Box
This was already the third Bake Off box I received! Time goes by so quickly! I also created posts for those, so make sure to check out the reviews, recipes and videos from the previous months below!
- Bake Off Box #1 | February 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #1 | Signature Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Bake Off Box #1 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #2 | March 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #2 | Mini Walnut and Banana Loaf Cakes Recipe
- Bake Off Box #2 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #3 | April 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #3 | Lemony Lemon Slices Recipe
- Bake Off Box #3 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #4 | May 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #4 | Chocolate and Hazelnut Babka Recipe
- Bake Off Box #4 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #5 | June 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #5 | Bakewell Tart with Feathered Icing
- Bake Off Box #5 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #6 | July 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #6 | Strawberry and Vanilla Sandwich Biscuits
- Bake Off Box #6 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #7 | August 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #7 | Passion Fruit Éclairs (with Meringue Kisses)
- Bake Off Box #7 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #8 | September 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #8 | Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls
- Bake Off Box #8 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #9 | October 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #9 | Focaccia with Olives, Garlic & Rosemary
- Bake Off Box #9 | Unboxing and Baking Video
- Bake Off Box #10 | November 2021 | Review
- Bake Off Box #10 | Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Custard
- Bake Off Box #10 | Unboxing and Baking Video
Lemony Lemon Slices (Dairy-free) | Bake Off Box #3 | April 2021
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
- 200g butter, softened (or use a dairy-free/vegan alternative)
- 200g caster sugar
- 4 M eggs
- 280g self-raising flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- zest of 2 lemons
- 150ml full-fat (whole) milk (or use lactose-free alternative)
- 75g lemon curd
FOR THE SYRUP:
- 50g caster sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon (~40 ml)
FOR THE ICING:
- 200g (fondant) icing sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
TO DECORATE:
- Candied lemon rounds
- OR candied peel OR jelly lemons/oranges (e.g. available from the baking decoration section in Morrisons)
- OR golden sprinkles/hundreds and thousands
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 20×34 cm traybake tin (I’d recommend this one)
- Large baking bowl
- Electric hand whisk
- Fine grater (I used the long-handed zester/microplane) from the Bake Off Box
- Small pot
- Cocktail stick
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease and line the baking tray with baking paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and caster sugar for 3-5 minutes until pale and creamy. Crack in two of the eggs and add 2 tbsp of the flour and beat well.
- Next, add in the other two eggs, the remaining flour, baking powder, and lemon zest and beat while gradually adding the milk. Mix briefly until everything is fully incorporated, then add the lemon curd and gently fold in using a large metal spoon or spatula.
- Transfer the mixture to your prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
- Whilst the cake is in the oven, prepare the sugar syrup. Place the caster sugar and lemon juice into a small saucepan and set over a low heat. Warm until the sugar has dissolved, then boil the syrup for 2-3 minutes to thicken.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place the tray on a wire cooling rack. Prick the cake all over using a cocktail stick and spoon over the sugar syrup whilst the cake is still warm. Then leave the lemon cake to cool completely.
- Once cool, remove the cake from the tin and set it onto a chopping board. To make the icing, put the icing sugar into a bowl and slowly add the lemon juice, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition. Continue adding the lemon juice (you may not need all of it) until your icing is thick and glossy.
- Spread the lemon icing over the top of the cake in an even layer, then leave to set for 30-40 minutes.
- Use a large knife to trim the edges of the cake to neaten them (optional, but then you can snack on the offcuts!). Then cut the cake into 12 equal pieces (i.e. cut it into 3×4 pieces) and use the candied lemon rounds (or other decorations) to add the finishing touches! Place on a serving platter to serve and enjoy!
