Vintage South African Lemon Cake Recipe (Suurlemoenkoek)

From the 1960’s

There was a time when many South African kitchens baked with one trusted favourite — Royal Baking Powder. In our home, my mom baked only with Royal, and to this day, I still believe it gives the best results. However, this old Afrikaans recipe for Suurlemoenkoek (a Lemon Cake recipe) brings back memories of tea-time treats, handwritten recipe books, and cakes made with care, no matter which baking powder you use…

How to make a Traditional, Classic, and Easy Lemon Cake:

Ingredients

75g butter (⅓ cup / 3 oz)
100g sugar (½ cup / 3¼ oz)
160g cake flour (1¼ cups / 5 oz)
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
2 eggs, beaten
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Growing up in South Africa, Sunday afternoons often meant visitors. Family friends would arrive after church, neighbours might stop in unexpectedly, and somehow there was always tea ready and something sweet waiting in the kitchen. In our house, this old-fashioned Suurlemoenkoek was one of those familiar favourites.

In earlier South African recipes, lemon cakes often involved making a separate layer or filling before assembling the cake, almost like a tart. This version is much simpler — a one-bake lemon cake that’s easy, light, and full of flavour.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a small 15cm (6-inch) round cake tin.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light in colour and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and the baking powder. Stir in the grated lemon zest.
Beat the eggs lightly.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time, alternating with the beaten eggs. Mix well until the batter is smooth and evenly combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely.

Slice into layers about 2.5cm (1 inch) thick, then sandwich together with lemon filling between each layer.
Finish with a generous drizzle of lemon icing.

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A Modern Twist on this Vintage Lemon Cake Recipe

For a simpler, more modern version of this nostalgic South African lemon cake recipe, try baking it in a small loaf tin instead of a round cake tin.

It turns this old Suurlemoenkoek into the kind of cake that looks perfectly at home on a kitchen counter, ready to slice for tea or coffee.

Once baked and cooled, skip the traditional layered filling and gently spoon over a generous drizzle of lemon curd, letting it settle into the top of the cake.

Finish with a light dusting of icing sugar or a simple lemon glaze if you like.

What to expect:

The result is soft, gently sweet, and full of fresh lemon flavor — still wonderfully nostalgic, just a little easier for modern baking days. It feels like the kind of cake many South African moms might make today: familiar, comforting, and quietly disappearing slice by slice.

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