On an everyday basis I generally try to eat a
healthy and well balanced diet, but recently I have developed quite a sweet
tooth, and homemade cake has definitely become my downfall! I love baking and cooking when I have the
opportunity to do so. I’ve often
experimented with different recipes, and have baked a variety of cakes over the
past few years, anything from a traditional Victoria sponge, rich red velvet
cake through to chocolate cake pops and slightly healthier banana and oatmeal
muffins.
Today, I found myself with a few hours free, so I
thought I would use this time wisely (or unwisely, depending on how you look at
it) and make one of my all time favourites…Lemon Drizzle! I absolutely love the light texture of this
cake, combined with the sweetness of the icing sugar and the zesty lemon glaze.
Amazingly I have found this to be one of the easiest
cakes to make, yet one of the tastiest. The recipe is so simple and requires little technical skill, so is well
suited to novice bakers as well as the more experienced. There’s also the bonus of using sunflower oil
rather than butter, so there’s nothing
to melt, making this recipe quick and healthier!
To make the cake you will need the following ingredients:
Serves 8
Sunflower oil or melted
butter for greasing
200g plain flower
2 tsp baking powder
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
150ml soured cream
Grated rind of 1 large
lemon
4tbsp lemon juice
150ml sunflower oil
Start by lightly greasing
a 20cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper(or opt for a less
conventional heart tin, like I did).
Sift the flour and
baking powder into a mixing bowl and stir in the caster sugar. Although quite honestly I have never sifted the flour myself, so if you’re a bit pushed for time, it won’t hurt to
miss out that step.
Now is a good time to preheat the oven to
180°c (Slightly lower if you have a fan assisted oven). As you can see from the image above, my cake ended up being slightly more well done than I'd hoped as I didn't reduce the temperature,for my fan oven. Ooops!
Next zest and squeeze the lemons.
In a separate bowl,
whisk the eggs, soured cream, lemon rind, 4 tbsp of the lemon juice and oil together. Set the remaining freshly squeezed lemon juice aside, as we will be using this
for the glaze later.
Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients
and mix until evenly combined. You can
use an electric whisk at this stage, but I found a basic wooden spoon did the
job nicely. (As the mixture is fairly
runny and thin in texture, it didn't make my arm ache either!)
Pour the mixture into
the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 45–60 minutes, until
risen and golden brown.
Now to make the lemon
glaze.
You will need:
4 tbsp icing sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
I found that
approximately the last 10 mins of baking time, was a good time to start making the syrup. Mix
together 4 tbsp icing sugar and 3tbsp of the lemon juice you set aside
earlier. Stir over a low heat, until
just beginning to bubble and turn syrupy.
As soon as the cake is
out of the oven, prick the surface with a skewer or sharp knife, then brush the
syrup over the top.
Leave the cake to cool
completely in the tin, before turning out and serving. If you want to make it just a little bit
prettier, you could add a few pieces of lemon rind or a dusting of icing sugar
on top! And that’s it! A yummy and zesty cake that’s quick and easy to make!
If anyone has a go at making this, I'd love to know how you get on! Bye for now x
