LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Good Morning to you,

How do you fancy, a cup of coffee and a slice of cake? 

You do.....fabulous, as that is what I am in the mood for....the weather is cold and miserable and this is just the ticket, so I have cut three slices....one for you, one for me and a spare slice in case a friend pops by for a visit.  I have someone in mind who I know loves Lemon Drizzle Cake!

LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Butter and line a 1kg loaf tin

Heat the oven temperature to 180c

INGREDIENTS

125g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

3 lemons, juice and finely grated rind

(I  only had two lemons, so I added some 

bottled lemon juice which was in my

store cupboard)

175g plain flour

2 tsp of baking powder

4 tablespoons milk

plus

2 medium sized eggs

LEMON SYRUP

2 oz granulated sugar

Remaining lemon juice

Cream together the butter and sugar,
until the mixture
turns pale in colour.

add the

lemon zest and 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice,

mix together until the lemon juice and zest is 
evenly incorporated.

Beat the eggs
 and add to the cake mixture a little at a 
time.

Beat in the sifted flour and baking powder

then add the milk

Beat thoroughly until the flour is incorporated.

At this point, I must admit it is unusual to

beat the flour into the cake mixture, as

ordinarily I would fold the flour into the mix,

but this method does work.

Pour into a buttered, lined 1kg loaf tin

Bake for 45 minutes

When the cake has been in the oven for 40 minutes, pour the sugar and remaining lemon juice in a pan. Place over a low heat and cook until the sugar dissolves.  Simmer for a further 2 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and check to make sure it is fully cooked, it should be a light, golden colour.

Keeping the cake in the tin,  gently spoon the syrup over the cake, until all the syrup has been used.  You will find that it will take a few minutes for the syrup to be absorbed.   

After five minutes, using a palette knife, run it around the edges of the cake, to make sure it will come away from the tin. BUT, leave the cake in the tin to absorb all the liquid.

When the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the tin. You will have a wonderfully moist lemon cake to enjoy.

There are numerous recipes for Lemon Drizzle Cake, I know some have lemon yoghurt added to the mix.  This recipe was given to me by a good friend many years ago, so I do not know it's origin.  It was one of those recipes which was handwritten on a piece of paper and tucked away in my file.  It is used over and over again as it is a quick, no nonsense, type of cake, which can be made very quickly.

If you live in an area of the world which grows it's own lemons, then I would suggest using two lemons. As when I baked this cake and used three lemons picked from our lemon tree, the flavour was much too tart. Nowadays we buy our lemons from the market so I find using three lemons is fine.

Enjoy this cake, it really is a quick "I fancy a piece of cake" recipe.

I will see you later in the week, so until then take care.