Make These Lemon Cakes, but with Vanilla, Chocolate, and Coffee Flavored Twists!

Lemon cakes are always the best treats when you are feeling particularly indulgent on any day of the week. Typically characterized by its light-as-a-cloud texture and zesty flavor profile, lemon cakes are your go-to solution for any party or brunch get-together. But it is not mandatory that you only choose lemon while preparing your party treats. You can always choose to add chocolate, vanilla or even coffee twists to the cakes for an added layer of taste. By adding these layers you ultimately get a completely new innovation that caters to a wider range of people with a varied palate. Here are the different recipes for each kind.

Classic Lemon Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup unsalted butter, which has been softened (so you may keep it at room temperature)
2. 1.5 cups granulated sugar
3. 4 large eggs
4. 2 cups all-purpose flour
5. 1 ½ tsp baking powder
6. 1/2 tsp baking soda
7. 1/2 tsp salt
8. 1/2 cup whole milk
9. 1/2 cup sour cream
10. 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
11. 1 tbsp lemon zest
12. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. You need to preheat your oven to a temperature to 175°C, after which you need to grease and flour your baking pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, you will need to mix the sugar and butter together until you get a fluffy and light consistency.
3. You can add the eggs (preferably one at a time) and constantly keep beating them.
4. Take a separate bowl and whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together.
5. You need to slowly and steadily add the dry ingredients to the buttery mixture, while constantly monitoring the fact that you are alternating between milk and sour cream. Make sure you begin and end the process with the dry ingredients.
6. You have to stir the lemon juice in, along with lemon zest and vanilla extract until it is rightly combined.
7. After this, pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it in an even manner.
8. You need to bake for 30 to 35 minutes and you can check its readiness by sticking a toothpick inside and ensuring the end comes out clean and non-sticky.
9. You have to ensure your cake is completely cooled down before you add your desired twist.

Vanilla twist

Ingredients:

1. 2 tsps of vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean with seeds scraped
2. Classic lemon cake batter

Method:

1. You need to prepare the classic lemon cake batter as explained above.
2. After mixing the lemon juice and zest together, you have to add the vanilla bean paste along with the seeds from a single vanilla bean.
3. After this step, you need to pour the prepared batter in a pan and bake as directed.
4. Now, as a result, you have an aromatic vanilla flavor that also complements the lemon taste profile splendidly.

Chocolate Twist

Ingredients:

1. ½ cup cocoa powder
2. ¼ cup hot water
3. Basic lemon cake batter

Method:

1. You need to make the basic lemon batter by following the instructions given above. But do this only after you have reduced the flour to 1 ¾ cups.
2. Mix the cocoa powder along with hot water in a small bowl. Keep stirring till it becomes absolutely smooth.
3. Mix the dry ingredients with the butter mixture and add the cocoa paste to the blend. Add some zest and lemon juice to it as well.
4. You need to keep mixing till it becomes a uniform blend.
5. Now add the chocolate-lemon mixture into a pre-prepared pan and bake it to the temperature mentioned above.
6. This addition essentially transforms the lemon-y citrus blend to a decadent chocolate mix.

Coffee Twist

Ingredients:

1. ¼ cup hot water
2. 2 tbsp of instant coffee granules
3. Basic lemon cake batter

Method:

1. First make the basic lemon cake batter as mentioned above.
2. Then mix the instant coffee with hot water.
3. Add the dissolved mixture to the batter along with the lemon zest as well as the juice.
4. Keep stirring till the coffee is completely incorporated.
5. After this, you should pour the coffee-lemon batter into the pan and follow the baking instructions as mentioned above.
6. The addition of coffee adds a body to the lemon cake and also gives another layer to the cake.