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Ingredients
Equipment
Equipment images are illustrative. Exact products may vary.
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 340°F. Grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment, leaving a little overhang for lifting. Melt the measured butter and let it cool until just warm.
- Whip the yolks with half the sugar until pale and thick. Mix in the lemon zest. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the weighed whites until foamy, then gradually add the remaining sugar and whip to glossy peaks that still bend at the tips.
- Fold about one-third of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it. Fold in the sifted flour and remaining whites in alternating additions, gently lifting the mixture until no flour pockets remain.
- Mix a few spoonfuls of batter with the just-warm melted butter in a separate bowl. Fold that mixture back into the main batter gently until evenly incorporated.
- Transfer to the prepared pan without filling above two-thirds full; bake any excess separately rather than overfilling. Bake until golden, the top springs back gently and a skewer inserted into the center comes out without wet batter, starting to check around 40 minutes and continuing as needed.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then lift onto a rack and cool completely before slicing. Wrap the cooled loaf well. Add any perishable topping only when serving and store that topping according to its own instructions.
Notes
This version uses lemon zest throughout.
The whipped whites provide the lift; no baking powder is included.
The recipe control represents one small loaf rather than a fixed slice count.
Do not taste raw batter.
