Lemon Cakes
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| Image by Rachel Howden |
George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is a wild ride of political drama, epic bloodshed, and FOOD—Some of the feasts are described in such detail they span multiple pages. Needless to say, these are my kind of books. Choosing just one dish to recreate was nearly impossible, so I made a poll for you all to help me decide. It was the tightest poll in Geeky Chef history! Lemon Cakes narrowly beat out Garlic and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb and Honey Cakes by just a few votes. But don’t worry, those of you who voted for other dishes—there are still plenty of delicious options to try. There’s an incredible site called The Inn at the Crossroads dedicated solely to the food of A Song of Ice and Fire and historical cuisine, and it’s well worth a visit.
As many of you know, Game of Thrones (the HBO adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire) is gearing up for its third season, and most of us can’t wait to see our favorite characters return. I plan on celebrating with a feast, and of course, Sansa Stark’s beloved Lemon Cakes are on the menu. These cakes are mentioned often in the books, but never in great detail. I always imagined them as tea-time treats for young lords and ladies, rustic in appearance with a dense, moist texture and an intense lemon flavor. My version is just that, with a sweet lemon slice on top to make it extra fancy. I hope you love them as much as Sansa Stark does!
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (divided)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar (divided)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 or 3 lemons, thinly sliced and seeded
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a muffin tin with butter, vegetable oil, or non-stick spray.
- In a small saucepan, boil lemon slices in 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar for about 15 minutes, until the lemons become tender. Carefully remove them with a pair of tongs and set aside on a parchment-lined surface.
- In a mixing bowl, soft together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add in 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and the lemon zest.
- Gradually beat in the dry flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing until just smooth.
- Place one lemon slice at the bottom of each muffin cup. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups, pouring it over the lemon slices.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cakes are firm with golden edges.
- While the cakes cool in the tin, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining lemon juice and remaining sugar.
- Poke holes into the cakes with a toothpick or fork. Slowly pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cakes, allowing the juice to soak in.
- Let the cakes set for 5–10 minutes. Carefully remove the cakes from the muffin tin, using a knife around the edges of necessary, and serve lemon slice side up.
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| Image by The Geeky Chef |
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| Photo by The Geeky Chef |
Posts
EEEEEEEE! thankyouthankyouthankyou
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Hope you like them!
DeleteThese look great! I have just one question (and I should preface this by saying I have no idea about food history, and I don't know much about the historical accuracy of Martin's world, the so I'm not trying to challenge you, I'm just curious): You imagine them as a sort of tea-time treat for young lords and ladies to enjoy, but you also picture them as very rustic. It's been my impression that rustic-looking food has only recently been elevated to a higher popular status, and that historically lords and ladies at tea would favor things that were well above the rustic food of the masses.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not something I've really thought about (and I could well be wrong, or I could be extrapolating maybe Victorian sentiments much further back in time) and it just came to me I read the otherwise drool-inducing post....
Hey Z! Good points! You are completely right about highborn people enjoying more decadence and flair in their food than the peasants. Game of Thrones is fantasy (so none of the historical food rules may apply, as you pointed out) but it is highly influenced by the War of Roses period in English history, which would be the 1400s. So we're talking medieval.
DeleteI'm definitely no expert and I may be totally wrong, but I was fairly certain that these would be pretty fancy for that period. At that time, peasants didn't each much more than stews and hard bread. Even in Cercei's epic feasts, the focus definitely seems to be more on the taste and the overall quality/variety of ingredients than the appearance of the food, with all the roasted meats, pies and soups. When I said "rustic, " I meant rustic by today's standards.
I might actually research this now, just to make sure, haha! I really appreciate your comment, and I totally welcome any criticism, thoughts or corrections. I enjoy just discussing this stuff, anyway. Occasionally I'll even alter recipes if someone points out an inaccuracy. Thank you for posting!
I've seen LOTS of Game of Thrones inspired lemon cakes, but these beat them all! Great job and thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, you made my day!
DeleteWhen does the lemon zest go in?
ReplyDeleteI made these yesterday in the UK, and ended up making about 22/23 cakes with the batter. 2 1/2 cups = 420g fyi. I didn't use the zest because it's not mentioned further in the recipe, and also because four tablespoons? Are you sure you don't mean teaspoons? That is a lot of lemons you have to zest if it is tablespoons (I'm speaking as a Brit whose tablespoons measure 15ml). I added more lemon juice to the cake mix to give it a more lemony kick and it was fine.
ReplyDeleteDelish cakes though, and lovely for Easter
Brit anon here again...did you mean 2x 1/2 cups or 2&1/2 cups...cos that may explain the many many tasty cakes I made...
ReplyDeleteThe recipe also mentions that butter be melted but then says to mix with the sugar until it's light and fluffy - perhaps it should have said softened?
DeleteOh piss off!
Deletehmm, why isn't this tagged vegetarian? D:
ReplyDeleteI decided to make these for a GoT rewatch party after looking at various lemon cake recipes and, boy howdy, am I glad I chose this recipe. I was a little nervous about how they would turn out because I thought that the lemon syrup might make them too sweet, but they were perfect. I didn't add any lemon zest, and I used three lemons for the lemon slices rather than two. I still had a little more batter than lemon slices, so when I make this recipe again I'll use four lemons.
ReplyDeleteThese were such a hit at the party that I intend to make them anytime I want to convince people that I'm a wizard in the kitchen. Thank you for this recipe!
Just wanted to say that I made these for a fellow GoT fan, and they turned out great. Properly tart and not super-sweet. Skipped the syrup and instead made a glaze of powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, for a more visible/decorative touch. I think it was a good idea, but will make the glaze thinner next time so the lemon slices show through better!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I either sliced the lemons too thin or boiled them too long. Made a second batch and only boiled about five minutes and that was plenty I think. If you want to make sure the lemon slices hold up (and they look amazing in the finished product!) you'll definitely want at least 3 lemons.
Thanks for the recipe! About to bring them to a party and sure they'll be a hit.
These were absolutely delicious!!!! My whole family loved them and called them "heavenly." I am so excited to make these for a Game of Thrones party and with the Sansa cosplay that I'm putting together. Thank you so much for this awesome, easy recipe!!!!
ReplyDeleteHello! I want to make these dinner party, but I'm wondering: Can they be made ahead and frozen if necessary?
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! The liquid left over after boiling the lemon slices makes great lemonade if you dilute it with ice and water!
ReplyDeleteI just made these in honor of the S4 finale and they are so delicious! I added about a tbsp of vanilla extract to the lemon sugar mixture that you pour over them at the end. Also I was too lazy to add lemon zest, but it's lemony enough. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHow do you recommend storing these bad boys? I plan on making them ahead of time for something.
ReplyDelete(By they way, just made a batch, completely and totally delicious!)
The Lemon slices on these were quite hard and difficult to chew, was it something i did wrong? xD
ReplyDeletelook So delicious.
ReplyDeleteThese are the best lemon cakes, exactly what I had in mind and they taste fantastic!
ReplyDeleteOne small suggestion: why not use the syrup left over from the candied lemon slices as the syrup for the cake? It already has a lovely lemon flavor plus no waste!
These were delicious! Made them for a season 6 finale viewing party a while back- I should've made a double batch.
ReplyDeleteAnonymousJune 14, 2014 at 8:39 PM
ReplyDeleteI just made these in honor of the S4 finale and they are so delicious! I added about a tbsp of vanilla extract to the Judi Dadu Online lemon sugar mixture that you pour over them at the end. Also I was too lazy to add lemon zest, but it's lemony enough. Thanks for the recipe!
These are the best lemon cakes, exactly what I had in mind and they taste fantastic!
ReplyDeleteOne small suggestion: why not use the syrup left over from the candied lemon slices as the syrup for the cake? It already has a lovely lemon flavor plus no waste!
piala dunia 2018
These lemon cakes look absolutely delightful! I love how they capture that old-fashioned, homemade feel while still being simple enough to make at home. The idea of a slightly dense, buttery cake with a hint of citrus sounds perfect, especially for an afternoon treat. Do you think they’d still turn out well if I used a bit less sugar, or would that affect the texture too much? Either way, I can’t wait to give these a try!
ReplyDeleteHi Annie!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! The recipe does call for quite a bit of sugar, but it's divided across different components. A full cup is used to candy the lemon slices. You could reduce that to 3/4 cup although much of that sugar is discarded after the lemons are done anyway. The cakes themselves contain a cup of sugar, but I *think* it should be safe to reduce that to 3/4 cup (although I haven't tested this). In the glaze, I think you could get away with only 1 to 2 tablespoons. Hope that helps!