I hope you've all had a lovely week! Today I've had a day off, so decided to make a couple of cakes in preparation for the weekend. (Let's be honest though, cake isn't just for the weekend). Seeing as the Honey, Sultana and Pecan Tea Bread was so moreish, I couldn't resist baking that again (this time I remembered to put the sultanas in to soak the night before), and I also thought I'd make a lemon-syrup loaf. There are so many recipes for lemon cake out there, but once you've tried this one I doubt you'll ever bother with any others! The cake is so moist because it involves pouring a lemony syrup over the top once it's baked, which then soaks into the sponge and is just delicious. It's from Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess recipe book.
Ingredients for the cake-
- 125g unsalted butter
- 175g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- zest of 1 lemon
- 175g self-raising flour, sifted
- pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons milk
Ingredients for the syrup-
- 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 100g icing sugar
To make the cake-
1) Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 180C and butter and line a 23 x 13 x 7cm loaf tin. If you have those loaf tin cases, then this step is very quick and easy.
2) Next, cream together the butter and the sugar. If your butter is really hard, then you might want to stick it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to make it easier to work with. When I made this, I creamed the butter on its own first before adding the sugar, which somehow felt easier!
3) Add the eggs and the lemon zest, beating well. I just grated the zest straight into the bowl to save on washing up another bowl/plate.
4) Then carefully fold in the flour and salt, making sure it's mixed thoroughly, before adding the milk.
5) That's the cake done! Spoon the mixture into your tin and pop into the oven. Now you can make the syrup, which is unbelievably simple.
6) Heat the lemon juice and icing sugar in a small pan until the sugar is dissolved.
7) The cake should be done after about 45 minutes, although ovens do vary, so you may want to check on it after 40 minutes or so. You'll know it's ready when a skewer stuck into it comes out clean.
8) Using the skewer, puncture the entire cake all over and then pour the lemon syrup over the top. It might pool around the edge, so just poke extra holes wherever needed.
9) Leave the cake in the tin until cooled, as it will be saturated with syrup.
10) Once cool, all that's left to do is stick the kettle on and get your cake forks at the ready!
I hope you'll have a go at this classic lemon loaf. If you do, I have no doubt that it will become a regular.
Did you bake this cake? Let me know how it went in the comments section below. If you have any helpful tips, I'd love to hear them too.
Harriet x
