Citron loaf cake 🍋

Before you start, bring the eggs and butter to room temperature. This way they combine more easily and the batter is less likely to split.

Put the whole piece of citron, peel included, into boiling water. Lower the heat slightly and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain the citron and let it cool slightly. Remove any seeds, then blend it very finely together with the peel into a smooth purée.

Put the eggs, sugar and honey in a bowl. Whisk until the sugar has almost completely dissolved and the eggs look smooth and slightly foamy.

Add the citron purée to the egg, sugar and honey mixture. Stir well until it is evenly distributed.

In a second bowl, beat the soft butter with an electric whisk until creamy, pale and fluffy.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add them to the beaten butter and fold in with a spatula until all the flour has been absorbed.

Add the egg and citron mixture to the butter in three additions. Mix well after each one and wait until the previous addition is fully incorporated before pouring in the next.

Grease a 16 × 8.5 × 5.5 cm loaf tin carefully. Pour in the batter and gently level the top.

Place a thin strip of soft butter down the centre of the batter, along the whole length of the loaf.

Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 160 °C for about 50 minutes. Start checking after 45 minutes by inserting a skewer into the centre.

Let the loaf cake rest in the tin for a few minutes. Turn it out gently onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Put the icing sugar in a bowl and start by adding 18 g of citron juice. Stir and, if needed, add more juice a little at a time until you reach the consistency you want.

Pour the citron glaze over the completely cooled loaf cake, letting it drip slightly down the sides. Wait for it to set before slicing.