Lemon Drizzle Cake

I love the tangy perk-me-up smell and taste of lemony cakes. I still remember the very first time I tried a lemon cake with poppy seeds at a local bakery. I loved it so much that I was devastated when they retired the recipe. Try I did, to find another bakery offering that same kind of delicious, tastebud tingling orange/lemon cakes, but I was sorely disappointed.

So imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe in The Sunday Times! It looked so simple that I had to give it a try and it turned out so good that I baked it several more times after that first attempt.

The original recipe calls for the zest of the lemon to be added to the creamed mixture. To be honest, I forgot to do that and ended with a ‘zest-less’ Lemon Drizzle Cake but since everyone commented how good it tasted, I decided to omit it completely when I baked it again. This is also partly because I personally find the zest of lemons and oranges bitter and I do not enjoy it. But should your tastebuds differ, you may add the zest of one lemon to the creamed mixture along with the ground almonds and lemon juice.



Lemon Drizzle Cake


Ingredients

Cake :
200 gm butter
200 gm castor sugar
3 eggs
150 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
30 gm ground almond
Juice of 1 lemon

Drizzle Topping :
Juice of 1 lemon
60 gm castor sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 deg C.

2. Beat butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.

3. Beat eggs one by one into the creamed butter and sugar. Add a little flour if the mixture starts to curdle

4. Sift flour and baking powder together into a separate bowl. Stir into the creamed mixture, along with ground almond and lemon juice. The mixture should now be thick and creamy.

5. Grease the bottom and side of a 26cm diameter baking pan and line the bottom with baking paper. Spoon the mixture into the pan and smooth the top flat.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 35 min or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. The top should be light and springy when touched.

7. While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon drizzle by mixing the juice and sugar in a small bowl.

8. When the cake is taken out of the oven, prick small holes across the top with a bamboo skewer. Slowly pour the drizzle mixture across the entire surface.

9. Cut into wedges and serve on its own or with a scoop of ice-cream.


References : The Sunday Times, 2 May 2010