Lemon Drizzle Cake

Believe it or not, in all the years I've been baking cakes and everything else I had never made a lemon drizzle cake, and it was only after my friend made one that inspired me to make one, they are easy to make, but the cake is amazing with a nice cup of tea or coffee (depending on your preference)

Ingredients – Serves 10 slices - Ready in 60 minutes

• 225g unsalted butter , softened
  
• 225g caster sugar
  
• 4 eggs
  
• finely grated zest 1 lemon
  
• 225g self-raising flour

FOR THE DRIZZLE TOPPING

• juice 11⁄2 lemon
  
• 85g caster sugar

Now for the How To:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
  
• Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then add the eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through.
  
• Sift in the flour, then add the lemon zest and mix until well combined.
  
• Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
  
• Bake for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  
• While the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the lemon juice and sugar to make the drizzle.
  
• Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, and then pour over the drizzle - the juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping.
  
• Leave in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve.
  
• Will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

My personal tip is to use more lemons than the recipe above says – you want the lemon flavouring to stand out (but not to overpower.) I ended up using the juice of two lemons and also the zest of two. I made this cake for the people at work and it was another one that went down a storm, crumbs weren't even left so I think that's a pretty good sign!
Another top tip for this recipe – if you are into the silicone bake ware make sure that you put the silicone loaf tin inside a normal loaf tin – learn from my mistake – the silicone tin wasn't strong enough to hold the cake as it cooked and half of it ended up spilling over the sides and onto my oven – using the sturdy tin will just help the cake to keep its shape and cook evenly – I don't know if this is a probably with all silicone loaf tins – or just mine as I got it from a bargain shop :-)
Next up we have a couple of recipes involving pumpkins!
Bye for Now! X

Goan Fish Curry

This may sound a little strange… but where I live we actually have a mobile fish monger. So basically they drop around a leaflet advising you of the fish they have and prices etc and every couple of months they will give you a call and see what fish you want and how much. So my dad signed up for it and it’s an excellent service, much cheaper than the supermarkets and the fish is caught that morning and then transported around!
Anyway… because of this we ended up having a lot of fish in the freezer and so I wanted to do something different with it and to try a different style of curry, and so Goan it was!
I thought this was an excellent curry, I thought it might have been a bit spicy, but the flavours were brilliant and the fish was so tender and it was just lovely all round, and as an added bonus its ready in less than 30 minutes, a perfect midweek curry!

Serves 2 – ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tsp coriander seeds
  
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
  
• 1 dried red chilli
  
• olive oil
  
• 1 onion , halved and sliced
  
• a small piece root ginger , finely grated
  
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  
• ½ tsp turmeric
  
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
  
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
  
• 1-2 green chillies , finely sliced
  
• 300g sustainable firm white fish such as haddock , Pollack or cod, cut into chunks
  
• steamed rice to serve

Now for the How To:

• Toast the seeds and dried red chilli, then grind in a pestle and mortar, or spice grinder.
  
• Heat a little oil in a pan and cook the onion with a big pinch of salt until soft and golden.
  
• Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric and ground spices and fry for 1 minute.
  
• Add the coconut, tamarind and green chillies and simmer for 5 minutes.
  
• Add the fish and cook for 3-4 minutes until just cooked. Serve with rice.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Next up is a Lemon Drizzle Cake!
Bye for Now! X

Dandelion & Burdock Cake

 

Yes you are reading that correctly! A cake based on the popular fizzy drink, I was dubious before making this, even though I love the drink, I didn’t know how it would work out in a cake – but the result is one of the best cakes I've made! I also made this for my birthday cake treats for the people at work and it went down a storm! hmm all this talk of cake has made me want some… 

Serves 6 - 8 – Ready in about 60 - 90 minutes

Ingredients 

·         225g / 8oz Plain Flour

·         225g / 8oz Caster Sugar

·         1 tsp Bircarbonate of Soda

·         100g / 3 ½ oz Mini Marshmallows

·         65g /2 ¼ fl oz Vegetable Oil

·         3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

·         200ml / 7fl oz Dandelion and Burdock drink

·         100g / 3 ½ fl oz Buttermilk

·         2 Free Range Eggs

For The Icing:

·         65g / 2 ¼ oz Unsalted Butter

·         1 ½ tbsp Cocoa Powder

·         50ml / 1 ¾ fl oz Dandelion and Burdock Drink

·         150g / 5 ¼ oz icing sugar

·         100g / 3 ½ oz chopped pecans

Now for the How To:

·         Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a 30cm/12in baking tin.

·         Sift the flour, sugar and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, then add the marshmallows.

·         Meanwhile, heat the butter, oil, cocoa powder and dandelion and burdock in a saucepan until boiling.

·         Pour the butter mixture onto the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Mix in the buttermilk and eggs.

·         Pour the cake batter into the cake tin and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the sides of the cake are coming away from the sides of the cake tin and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

·         Meanwhile, for the icing, heat the butter, cocoa powder and dandelion and burdock in a saucepan until boiling. Sift in the icing sugar and mix until well combined. Stir in the chopped pecans.

·         Spread the icing over the cake and set aside to cool completely.

The end result is so good it’s a bit sticky but delicious, the dandelion and burdock flavor isn’t over powering, it just adds an extra flavor into the cake, most people can’t even establish the pop is used, but it just tastes amazing!

Next up is Goan Fish Curry

Bye for Now! X