Citrus time - Lemon cake recipe

The lemons are ripe! As are the limes, mandarins and orange. This weekend I hope to plant another orange tree and perhaps a tangelo.

Last week the children decided to make their own lemonade, which consisted of lemon juice, water and sugar. They picked, cut and squeezed all the fruit themselves. They were perhaps a little bit excessive with the picking, given that those lemons need to last us all year, but I forgave them.

They declared it delicious, but some of it's still sitting in the fridge.

Do you see all that lego on the bench? It is semi-permanent! Depending on my mood I'm either a wonderful, generous mother to allow such clutter in the kitchen, or a complete fool.

Today I made lemon slice, and I'd planned to give you the recipe. I hadn't made it since Jack was a baby - about 8 years ago - and remembered it being divine. It's pretty good, but when the children wouldn't eat more than a mouthful and Ian said he'd eat it if he was starving in the desert, I decided I'd better not inflict you with it. However, I like it!

However, I will give you the recipe for my most fabulous lemon cake. I actually call it Giselle's lemon cake, because she gave it to me. Usually I double it so I don't have to bake as often. Most people who taste it ask for the recipe:

Giselle's Lemon Cake
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c plain yoghurt (or milk if you don't have yoghurt)
3/4 c grapeseed or olive oil (it is actually really good with the olive oil taste!)
Rind 3-4 lemons (or less if you're short of lemons)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder*
Beat together the sugar and eggs with an electric beater until quite thick - just a minute or so.
Mix in yoghurt, oil and lemon rind, then fold in flour and baking powder which you have sifted together.
Bake at 180oC (350oF) for 35-45 minutes.

Leave top plain or, when cool,  top with either:
- lemon syrup (1/4 sugar mixed with 1/4 c lemon juice)
- vanilla icing (icing sugar, boiling water and some vanilla essence or paste)
- lemon icing (icing sugar and lemon juice)

You can add about 3/4 cup either thread or dessicated coconut at about the same time as the flour. And if your'e a coconut nut (the best type!) then you can add some to the icing as well.
Lemon coconut cake = great! But I've made it so much that the family are sick of it!

*I never use baking powder. For each teaspoon required I use a scant 2/3 tsp cream of tartar and 1/3 tsp baking soda.