Lemon Shortbread

Another recipe from the lovely yummly site! I had originally wanted to make a chocolate orange cake but I didn’t have the necessary equipment so I’ve added that to my list of things to do! I did a quick online search looking for something fresh and simple and came across this. I’m a massive fan of shortbread and haven’t made any since my chocolate version back in February. I chose this one because it used real lemons and the use of cornflour and icing sugar suggested it would be nice and light.

And it was! It was hard work again for my mixer though so I think it needs a rest after these last two recipes I made. When making any new recipe it is always a good idea to read the entire recipe before starting. I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before and yet I still haven’t learnt. As most of my recipes are ‘chuck it in a bowl and mix’ I naively thought this would be the same so I started out using my biggest bowl. However, it turns out you are just prepping the dry ingredients in that bowl and they’ll need to be added to a different (preferably your largest bowl) later.

Once you’ve prepared the ingredient in their three separate bowls it’s just a case of added the flour and buttermilk alternately until it’s all thoroughly mixed together. This mixture does need an our to chill in the fridge so also make sure you have time to accommodate that before you start! My rolls weren’t very cylindrical and any roundness they did have was removed when slicing the rolls into the individual biscuits. While they still taste great and the recipe worked really well, I do wish the presentation (as always!) was slightly better so I might work it a little differently in the future.

This is however definitely one for the recipe binder and I will be making it again. I made around 60 little biscuits with this recipe and they’ve lasted about a week in my house now! Perfect with a cup of tea for a little sweetness.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

So as I’m sure you all know, it was Mother’s Day last Sunday and this cake was part of my present to my mum. She loves lemons (and most fruits) so when I saw this recipe during my Lakeland online browsing (I could spend a fortune in that shop!) I thought it would be perfect! You can find the original recipe here. I, slightly inadvertently, did a minor variation to this because, as you can see from the pictures, I didn't have the usual sugary, hard topping on my cake.

You’re supposed to leave the cake to cool for 15-20minutes before putting the sugary mixture on top and then leave to cool fully in the tin before you move the cake. This is to ensure the sugar doesn’t run straight off and will harden on the cake. I highly recommend using a loose bottom cake tin for this cake which I didn’t have in the right size (20cm is the best size for this recipe).

Consequently, I used a regular cake tin and so had to take it out before putting the sugar mixture on or else I wouldn’t have been able to get it out without ruining it. Not only could I not let it cool in the tin but as the cake was surprise I had to make it in secret which didn’t give me enough time to leave it to totally cool! Instead of settling on the top and hardening, the mixture seeped into the sponge and so left it moist and very lemony, especially on the top.

While it perhaps doesn’t look as pretty, it tasted amazing and as it turns out, my mum doesn’t really like the crunchy bit so it worked out for the best! Everyone else in the family enjoyed it also and it was completely devoured in 2days. I’ll certainly be buying a loose bottomed tin to try it again as Lakeland intended and it’s definitely a recipe for the binder!

Here is the recipe:

200g unsalted butter, softened

175g golden caster sugar

4 unwaxed lemons

3 medium eggs, beaten

200g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

50g almonds (I left these out)

2 tbsp milk

5 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°

Cream together the butter and caster sugar until pale, light and fluffy

Grate the zest from two of the lemons and add to the mixture. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well after each addition

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using a large metal spoon, fold into the cake mixture, then fold in the ground almonds

Add the milk and the juice from one lemon and mix until smooth

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level wit a palette knife. Bake on the middle self of the oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. (My cake was still slightly uncooked in the middle when it was already verging on very brown so I covered it over with some foil to stop it colouring further while the middle cooked)

Definitely Lick Your Spoon at this point, the mixture is lush!

Cool the cake in the tin for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the remaining lemons and mix with the granulated sugar. Spoon the sugary lemon juice over the top of the warm cake and leave in the tin until completely cool.

OR skewer the top and pour over the sugar mixture to infuse the sponge and leave a glazed top like I did.