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Photograph of Citronmåne – Lemon Moon Cake, or Lemon Marzipan Cake

Citronmåne – Lemon Moon Cake, or Lemon Marzipan Cake

This Citronmåne, or Lemon Moon Cake, is a moist, fragrant cake laced with generous quantities of lemon, sweet almonds and marzipan and topped with a zesty lemon icing. If a cake can be considered a national treasure, it seems that Citronmåne would fall into this category in Denmark.

Makes 1 x 900g loaf cake or 1 x 20cm/8in round cake

Course afternoon tea, Dessert
Cuisine Danish
Keyword cake, lemon, marzipan
Prep Time 13 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Author Susan

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 100g marzipan
  • 130g room temperature unsalted butter
  • 130g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 130g plain/all-purpose flour
  • 50g ground almonds
  • grated zest of 2 lemons. 
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of/baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 100g sour cream, or use Greek/natural yoghurt

Icing:

  • 150g icing sugar
  • 5 – 6 teaspoons lemon juice

Topping:

  • grated lemon zest
  • roasted flaked almonds (See Recipe Notes for roasting details.)

Instructions

  1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  2. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 (fan 160°C) and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or use a cake tin liner. You can also use a deep-sided 20cm/8 inch greased and lined round cake tin.

  3. Sponge cake: first, weigh the marzipan and pop it in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes whilst you make the cake.

  4. It is important that the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If it is a little hard, beat it with a whisk before adding the other ingredients. If it is already quite soft, you do not need to do this.

  5. Measure all the remaining ingredients, apart from the lemon zest, lemon juice and marzipan, into the mixing bowl with the butter. Use an electric whisk to beat until combined. This should take less than a minute. You may need to use a spatula to scape around the edges of the bowl, to make sure everything is mixed evenly.

  6. Grate the lemon zest directly into the bowl and pour in the lemon juice. Grate the marzipan and add this to the bowl also. Fold together, being careful not to over-mix at this stage.

  7. Tip into your lined baking tin, ensuring the cake goes into all the corners and the surface is level. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for 35 – 45 minutes until cooked. (It takes 40 minutes in my oven.) You may find the centre has sunk ever so slightly: this is normal. It is cooked when:

    - the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains.

    - a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

    - the cake is beginning to come away from the sides of the tin/dish.

  8. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then, use the baking parchment to help lift it out of the tin onto a wire rack.

  9. Cover with icing: when the cake is cool, mix the lemon juice with the icing sugar. Use a balloon whisk to mix well, until there are no lumps. It should be a pouring consistency. If it is too thick, or too thin, adjust with extra sugar or juice as necessary.

  10. Remove the baking parchment from the cooled cake. Place it on a serving plate, upside down to ensure you have a flat surface to ice.

  11. Pour the icing over the cake. It should cover the top of the cake and trickle down the sides.

  12. Topping: sprinkle with flaked almonds and a little grated lemon zest. I love to serve it with a cup of tea but equally, it makes a stunning dessert with some cream and some raspberries or strawberries.

Recipe Notes

 

Equipment:

  • kitchen scales and measuring spoons
  • mixing bowl and electric whisk
  • 900g/2lb loaf tin lined with baking parchment or a 20cm/8inch round tin lined with baking parchment
  • mixing bowl for the crunchy topping
  • grater
  • reamer

 

More details on ingredients and instructions:

Please see the ingredient list and the instructions in the post above, for further information.

 

Flaked almonds

I toast the almonds before adding them to the top of the cake. You can do this in a dry frying pan over a medium heat; it will only take a minute or two. Alternatively, tip them onto a baking tray and pop in the oven for 3 – 4 minutes after you have taken the cake out.