Simple Lemon Drizzle
Baking is something I wish I could do more of. As a student it’s difficult to find ways of incorporating it into work and I’m often put off by expensive ingredient and recipes requiring things I’ve never even heard of let alone seen in the aisles of lidl. When I do manage to bake, the produce is either demolished by housemates in minutes or left around until its past its best (dependent on who’s in the house!!!)
This simple lemon drizzle provides a perfect resolution: easily accessible ingredients and ability to be sacked up or down, it uses a pretty standard cake batter mix with the addition of lemon juice which can then be smothered in tasty drizzle
Ingredients:
For the Cake -
4/6/8 oz Caster Sugar
4/6/8 oz Butter (softened)
4/6/8 oz Self Raising Flour (preferably sifted but don’t worry if not)
2/3/4 Medium sized eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 lemon (juiced)
For the Drizzle -
1 lemon (juiced)
Approx. 6 tbsp Caster sugar (rough guide - best to judge on taste)
I always find it works out best as a loaf cake, so a loaf tin would be recommended, obviously dependent on the size of batch your planning to do although the mix also works well as muffins if you’ve got some left over!
Make sure the tin is well greased or lined with a paper liner to stick it from sticking to the sides
Cream the butter and sugar together so that it’s nice and smooth (any lumps will make it harder to mix later), if the butter is too hard, whiz in the microwave at 10/5 second intervals until workable.
Add in the eggs and lemon juice, mixing as fast as you can,- I always find that folding in a little flour between each one stops the mixture from cuddling and going lumpy.
Switch on the oven to heat up
Fold in the remaining flour and the baking powder slowly to stop lumps forming
Once all folded in give it a final quick mix to ensure that it has plenty of air for a light texture
Pour into the tin and shake gently from side to side to flatten the mix
Place in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180/200oC - check after this time with a metal skewer - when this comes out cleanly from different angels it’s all cooked! Larger cakes will definitely need longer than this, cover the top with tin foil to prevent it burning and return to the oven, check progress every 10 or so minutes - ideally the top will be golden brown
To make the drizzle simply juice 1 lemon into a small bowl or pot and gradually (taste testing in between) add spoonfuls of caster sugar - caster sugar will work so much better than granulated as it dissolves quicker in the liquid - if you don’t have caster sugar, it may be easier to complete this stage in a small pan over a low heat.
Once the cake is cooked, leave to cool in the switched off oven - this prevents the top from sinking in. After an hour or so, remove and pour the drizzle mix evenly over the top - not ignoring the corners - do this while the cake is still in the tin otherwise any run off will go everywhere!!
Next simply leave the cake to cook - your looking for most of the drizzle to have seemed into the sponge but leaving a slightly crunchy white topping of crystallised sugar.
Dig in and Enjoy!!!
Baking is something I wish I could do more of. As a student it’s difficult to find ways of incorporating it into work and I’m often put off by expensive ingredient and recipes requiring things I’ve never even heard of let alone seen in the aisles of lidl. When I do manage to bake, the produce is either demolished by housemates in minutes or left around until its past its best (dependent on who’s in the house!!!)
This simple lemon drizzle provides a perfect resolution: easily accessible ingredients and ability to be sacked up or down, it uses a pretty standard cake batter mix with the addition of lemon juice which can then be smothered in tasty drizzle
Ingredients:
For the Cake -
4/6/8 oz Caster Sugar
4/6/8 oz Butter (softened)
4/6/8 oz Self Raising Flour (preferably sifted but don’t worry if not)
2/3/4 Medium sized eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 lemon (juiced)
For the Drizzle -
1 lemon (juiced)
Approx. 6 tbsp Caster sugar (rough guide - best to judge on taste)
I always find it works out best as a loaf cake, so a loaf tin would be recommended, obviously dependent on the size of batch your planning to do although the mix also works well as muffins if you’ve got some left over!
Make sure the tin is well greased or lined with a paper liner to stick it from sticking to the sides
Cream the butter and sugar together so that it’s nice and smooth (any lumps will make it harder to mix later), if the butter is too hard, whiz in the microwave at 10/5 second intervals until workable.
Add in the eggs and lemon juice, mixing as fast as you can,- I always find that folding in a little flour between each one stops the mixture from cuddling and going lumpy.
Switch on the oven to heat up
Fold in the remaining flour and the baking powder slowly to stop lumps forming
Once all folded in give it a final quick mix to ensure that it has plenty of air for a light texture
Pour into the tin and shake gently from side to side to flatten the mix
Place in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180/200oC - check after this time with a metal skewer - when this comes out cleanly from different angels it’s all cooked! Larger cakes will definitely need longer than this, cover the top with tin foil to prevent it burning and return to the oven, check progress every 10 or so minutes - ideally the top will be golden brown
To make the drizzle simply juice 1 lemon into a small bowl or pot and gradually (taste testing in between) add spoonfuls of caster sugar - caster sugar will work so much better than granulated as it dissolves quicker in the liquid - if you don’t have caster sugar, it may be easier to complete this stage in a small pan over a low heat.
Once the cake is cooked, leave to cool in the switched off oven - this prevents the top from sinking in. After an hour or so, remove and pour the drizzle mix evenly over the top - not ignoring the corners - do this while the cake is still in the tin otherwise any run off will go everywhere!!
Next simply leave the cake to cook - your looking for most of the drizzle to have seemed into the sponge but leaving a slightly crunchy white topping of crystallised sugar.
Dig in and Enjoy!!!
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