Easter Lemon Cake

One of my favourite lemon drizzle cakes dressed for Easter.

Ingredients 

• 225g/8oz butter (or low-fat spread if you prefer), softened
• 225g/8oz caster sugar

• 225g/8oz self raising flour, sifted 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• zest of 1 lemon
• 4 medium size eggs

      For the drizzle topping

• juice of 1 lemon
• 85g caster sugar

 Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ Fan160C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a (20cm) round, deep loose-based tin and line with baking parchment.
2. Place the butter, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Use an electric whisk to beat the butter and sugar together until they are pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, whisking well between additions and adding 2 tbsp of the flour with the last egg - this will prevent curdling.
3. Sift over the remaining flour, then gently fold in with a metal spoon along with 2 tbsp hot water. Spoon into the prepared tin, level the surface and bake for 45-50 mins or until it is shrinking away from the sides of the tin. A fine skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 mins.
4. Squeeze the lemon juice, then sieve to remove the bits. Use the fine skewer to prick the cake all over, pour over the syrup, then sprinkle over the sugar before removing the cake from the tin. Serve in wedges.

You could decorate the cake with icing (icing sugar and lemon juice) and chocolate mini-eggs for Easter. 

Just a little gift

I love baking and I love sharing something nice.  So, when I bake something nice I love to share it.

Sometimes a simple gift can be very effective if it's home-made with a bit of care. I often make cakes and biscuits for dinner party presents. The tip is making it simple so that you won't stress over it but enjoy making it. Take this is simple lemon cake for instance. I made it in the evening of the day before the Sunday lunch that I was invited to. It only takes 10 minutes to put together and the oven does the rest.
I wrapped it nicely with ribbons and a label. Nice little present. This cake recipe is one of my simplest and reliable recipes, so it's hard to get it wrong. The photo above is baked in a 2Ib loaf tin.
Here is the recipe. (click here). 

I stock clear cellophane bags in the cupboard for present wrapping. These are very handy. I also stock some labels and ribbons which are also available online to buy. A home-made gift is a great alternative to a bottle of something if you have a little time to spare.

I was looking for a small loaf tin to bake a smaller cake to fit in my cellophane bags. 2Ib loaf tins are very common and you can find them very easily. In fact, most of the loaf tins you can find in a baking section in a supermarket are 2Ib tins.  I finally found this small 1Ib loaf tin in a small local household shop.
For my new 1Ib loaf tin, I adjusted my simple cake recipe.

• 3 oz butter (or low-fat spread) 
  
• 3 oz caster sugar (or soft brown sugar)
• 3 oz plain flower
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 eggs
• lemon or orange zest
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Put everything in a bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer. Pour the mixture into the 1Ib loaf tin and bake in a preheated oven (180c / 170c fan) for about 40 minutes.  

Really Tangy Upside-down Lemon Cake

 

I can't resist a bargain .... A bag of unwaxed lemons was half price ... I had to buy them. 

So here is the incredibly tangy upside-down lemon cake with two whole lemons. 

Yes, truly two whole lemons. I used lemon zest in the cake mixture and sliced the lemons and placed them in the bottom of the cake tin which was layered with caramel sauce. 

I love lemon, but it was seriously tangy.   However, somehow, it was quite morish and I really enjoyed it. Should I recommend you to bake it?     

I'm not so sure ... but if you REALLY like a tangy lemony flavour, go for it. 

Ingredients 

• 200g plain flour
• 150g sugar 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150ml milk
• 50ml vegetable oil  
• 1 egg
• zest of 2 lemons
• 2 sliced lemons
• for caramel: 3 oz caster sugar + 3 tablespoon water

Method

1. Place the granulated sugar and 6 Tbsp water into a stainless steel pan.
2. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and there are no granules.
3. Remove the spoon and increase the heat. (Do NOT stir! Just watch!)
4. Boil until a golden straw colour and immediately pour into the cake tin. Leave it to cool.
5. Slice the lemons and place them on top of the caramel layer in the bottom of the cake tin.
6. Measure out the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add lemon zest.
7. Measure milk and oil in a large measuring jug. Add egg and whisk well.
8. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  Stir until just combined. 
9. Pour the mixture into the cake tin.
10. Bake in a preheated (180 C) oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. 
11. When the cake is baked, leave it for a few minutes then turn it upside-down onto the plate.