Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemons are very rich in Vitamin C, but can be too tangy to eat on their own. The Lemon Drizzle Cake is a perfect addition to your afternoon tea. It has a lovely zing to the taste, and goes well with a cup of iced tea or coffee. I remember eating something very similar to this when I was a child. And I have always loved the taste since then.

There are various methods on how to make this cake. You can either make a two tier sponge or if you prefer, a full sized cake in a tin. Either way, the ingredients are the same. Of course if you wish to make a larger or smaller cake, then adjust the ingredients accordingly. You don't have to use Lemons. You can change the main ingredient to oranges. This is actually really nice.

So, now you have decided which fruit you want to use its time to get all your ingredients and tools together.

Preheat the oven to 160 C/325 F. Or gas mark 3. Then get yourself a 2lb loaf tin, or anything that is similar in size. A round cake tin will do if you want to make a two tiered version. You can either grease it or line it with greaseproof paper, it is entirely up to you.

Ingredients

Finely grate the rind of 2 lemons

175g/6 oz/ Or 12 tbsp Caster Sugar

225g/80z/ Or 1 cup Unsalted butter, softened, salted will do if you don't have any unsalted.

4 eggs

225g/8oz/ 2 Cups of self raising flour

5Ml/1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp salt

Shredded rind of 1 lemon, to decorate

Now for the Syrup

Juice of 1 lemon

150/50z/3/4 cup Caster Sugar

This recipe will serve 6

Now the oven is warm, on to the cooking. First of all cream the butter with the lemon and sugar. Make sure you give it a good whisk. Then add the eggs and mix until smooth. Then get a separate bowl and sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Now, gently fold a third at a time into the lemon mixture.

Now, turn the batter mixture into the tin, and make sure to smooth the top off.

Then bake for 1 1/2 hours or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Obviously check your cooker settings before you start, as everyone is slightly different. Keep checking to make sure it doesn't get over cooked.

Make the Syrup

Slowly heat the juice with the sugar and dissolve it gently. Now, get a knife or fork and either slash the top of the cake, or make holes with the fork. This is to make sure that the syrup soaks into the cake. Once you are happy with this, gently pour the syrup over the sponge.

To add that final touch

Sprinkle the shredded lemon rind, and 5ml/1 tsp of granulated sugar on top. And then all you have to do is wait for it to cool.

To bake The Cake as a Two Tier Sponge

Prepare the ingredients as above. But for this sponge you will have a filling.

Filling

2 Free range egg yolks

75g/2/34 oz Caster sugar

50g/1/34 oz Unsalted butter

2 Lemons, juice and zest

100g/3/2 oz mascarpone

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a pan over a low to medium heat until melted.

Add butter, lemon juice and zest and continue to cook, make sure you whisk it for at least 4-5 minutes.

You will be able to tell when it is ready because the mixture will be thick and smooth. When it is ready leave to cool.

To add the mascarpone, use a metal spoon and fold the mascarpone into the mixture. This will leave it with a marbled affect.

Marscapone is an Italian triple cream cheese that can be used for tiramisu, and other cakes and puddings. Lemons are one of the most popular ingredients to use with it. But it can also be used for savoury cooking.

Take the cooked sponge that has been soaked in syrup and very gently cut it in two. Then spread the filling over the bottom layer of cake. Leave to cool. If it is not eaten at once, it can be placed in the fridge.

Enjoy.