Thursday, April 24, 2014

Two long weekends in a row, friends visiting and a lemon cake.

We've had a long weekend for Easter and another one now with Anzac day. And summer is still hanging on in there. Well, not really, it's most definitely cooler in the evenings, but still lovely and warm during the day. So warm, in fact, that I am having a second asparagus season, which is just crazy. It all ended in December, like it was supposed to, then lo and behold a whole lot of spears are coming up again now. Six months early! Rocket and lettuce seeds I sowed in summer are coming up now in the wee pot I put them in!

odd.

For Easter Chris and Dan came over from Melbourne. We had a very relaxing time, and it was so lovely to see them.

The sun even came out so that we could have Easter breakfast on the deck.


We went over to Russell for dinner and the sunset was truly beautiful.

Chris, giving Rachel a last apple before they headed back to Melbourne.


Today I baked a lemon cake, we're going out diving tomorrow and it's always nice to have a wee treat when we surface.
My Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook arrived yesterday, so I had to christen it!

This is the nicest lemon cake I have ever made, and there is something wonderful about going to the garden, picking a couple of lemons off the tree, wandering in to see the chickens and collecting some eggs, then coming back inside and using them immediately.

Lemon Loaf Recipe

Ingredients 
  • 320 g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • zest of 2 lemons
  • 350 g plain flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 250 ml whole milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g unsalted butter
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 50 g caster sugar
Cream together the eggs, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Sieve together the flour, salt and baking powder. Separately, mix together the milk and vanilla extract.   You need to combine the dry and wet ingredients with the butter/sugar mixture. The recipe recommends doing this by adding the wet and dry ingredients in thirds and mixing well in between. I didn't! I did it gently, all in one go.
Melt the butter, and pour this into the mixture. Beat well. This makes quite a runny mixture. Don't worry, it works!
Grease a 23×13 cm loaf tin. Pour in the mixture and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes at 170°C.

Lemon Syrup
 Now, make the lemon syrup that is to be drizzled on the loaf. Gently heat the juice and zest of a lemon with 50g caster sugar and 100 ml water, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil the liquid until it has reduced to a syrup. This takes around 15 minutes or so. 

When the baked loaf is still hot, pour the lemon syrup all over the top and leave to cool.

This finished cake, and it is beautiful and very lemony - yum!

11 comments:

  1. Laura, I have a complaint about your blog. When I read it it makes me extremely hungry!!!! LOL. All that wonderful food, yum. I love looking at your gorgeous garden and everything else - so much to delight in. I like seeing Rachel the donkey being spoilt too! - as it should be. I laughed at your being spat at by an Alpaca (sorry, that was mean, I've been kicked and bitten by horses and ponies which is maybe worse if that's any comfort, hehe). That photo of the Russell sunset - my gosh, it is stunning!!!!

    Thanks for sharing your wonderful world Laura. x

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    1. aw Wendy, thank you - I've been checking out your lovely foodie things - yum. Yep and being spat at is no fun at all - the flipping stuff was like acid!!!

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  2. That looks delicious. I think you have tempted me into the kitchen this weekend. Have a nice weekend Laura!

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    1. we ate most of it when we went out diving with friends - it's just the thing to nosh on after a long dive! Hope you are having a lovely weekend too.

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  3. Glad you got some nice weather for your visitors, it's a but better here but talk about be careful what you wish for, the rain has come with a vengeance. Mm cake, might need to bake today, I've got half a bucket of mushrooms from the neighbour to deal with later.

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    1. Did you bake?? what did you do with the mushrooms?

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  4. Long weekends, great weather, good friends and wonderful food. It doesn't get much better than that does it?!!

    xx Susan

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  5. Have copied your lemon cake recipe so I shall give it a go maybe tomorrow. That sunset picture would look amazing blown up on a block canvas. Truely spectacular!!

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  6. I found your blog last week and yesterday I made the lemon loaf cake. Oh my it was delicious. It was so moist and lemony and I shall definitely be making it again thank you for sharing the recipe.

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    1. It's yummy isnt it! I've made it a few more times - it disappears :)

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I love it when you leave me comments, it lets me know there are folk out there reading my ramblings! Thank you, I appreciate them loads and loads
Laura x