As it's a drizzly bank holiday Monday, I thought I'd share a little slice of sunshine with you in the best Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe.
This is a Mary Berry recipe (she's always got your back with the best bakes) and wins every award in my book due to the sweet, sour, crunchy, sugar topping - the dream. It's the most simple recipe - one of those just mix it all together and bake kinda recipes - and the chances are you'll have most of the ingredients lurking about in cupboards already.
Ingredients
for the cake:
225g butter (softened)
225g caster sugar
275g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
finely grated rind of 2 lemons
for the crunchy topping:
175g granulated sugar
juice of 2 lemons
Equipment: Traybake tin (30x23x4cm)
Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 40 minutes
1. Line your cake tin with baking parchment to cover the bottom and sides and pre-heat your oven to 180°C.
2. Measure all the ingredients for the cake into a large bowl and mix well for around 2 minutes - I'd recommend using an electric whisk as it's much quicker, but it can be done by hand if you're up for an arm workout! Once the mixture is smooth, pour the mix into your lined tray, scraping the sides of the bowl and then smoothing over the top of the with a spatula.
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Test the cake is baked by putting a cocktail stick into the centre, if it comes out dry your cake it ready to come out. If it has cake mix on it, it needs a little longer.
4. Unlike most cakes, you want to do your icing whilst it's still warm, so allow the cake to cool slightly in the tin for a minute or so, then carefully lift the cake out, remove the baking parchment and place on a wire rack.
5. Now for the the best bit, the crunchy topping! To ensure the lemon drizzles straight in, use a fork or cocktail stick to create small holes over the top of the cake. Then, spoon over your lemon and sugar mix whilst the cake is still warm - the lemon should sink in and the sugar should sit on top. you might want to place a tray under your wire rack to catch any drips as it can get a little messy.
6. Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy!
It's perfect to make on a rainy bank holiday like today but it's a recipe I find myself using all year round - particularly for Summer BBQ's... which feel a lifetime away right now, huh?
What's your favourite cake to bake?
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There's something that feels so special (and typically british) about picking fruit from your own garden and boiling and bubbling it up into your own homemade jam.
I've always loved Plum Jam, I used to have it when I was a younger, but hadn't had it in a while. There'd always be a jar at my dads house, but since I've been at university that luxury was not available to me and I was scrapping out the last of whatever was in the cupboard instead...
My dad and step-mum had left a huge bag of delicious, straight from the tree, plums and greengages for me when I drove down the other day. They said I could pick more from the tree if I wanted to make jam, so I took the chance to take photos of the plum trees at golden hour and the challenge of making jam as it was one I was most definitely up for.
This recipe is super simple and doesn't involve any faffing about with a thermometer. You can change the quantities to the amount of jam you'd like to make, just make sure you're using equal parts plums and sugar.
r e c i p e b e l o w 
This recipe is by Waitrose.
Remember these quantities are completely up to you, but adapt the other ingredients depending on how many plums you want to use.
What you'll need ::
2kg English plums - washed, halved & stoned
600ml cold water
2kg Jam sugar (We used preserving sugar, which seemed to work just as well)
1. Prepare your jam jars. Preheat your oven to 160°C, wash your jars in hot soapy water, rinse and dry them thoroughly. Put them on their sides in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn off the oven until the jam is ready to pot.
2. To prepare your plums, cut them in half along the indentation, twist the halves apart and remove the stones.
3. Put the plums and water in a wide, large saucepan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for 45 minutes - the plums should be soft and pulpy and the liquid should be reduced by about half.
4. Add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved. The base of the pan should no longer feel gritty when stirred with a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil and boil it rapidly for 4-5 minutes.
6. Remove it from the heat and test the setting point. To do this, spoon a little jam onto a chilled saucer, let it cool for a few seconds, then push the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles on the surface, it has reached setting point and it's ready to put into the jars. If not boil for a further 2 minutes and test again.
7. Skim off the scum from the surface using a slotted spoon, then leave the jam to stand for 15 minutes, then stir it thoroughly. Set your jars out and pour the jam into the warm jars, right to the top. Cover the jam with a waxed disc (not going to lie, I didn't have these...) and then twist on the lid. Tie a sweet ribbon around the jar, write a little label and your jam is good to go!
It's absolutely delicious on warm buttered toast or my current favourite, a big blob of jam on top of a bowl of greek yoghurt for breakfast. Delicious.
I love whipping up a good treat in the kitchen. Henry very kindly treated me to Tanya Burr's new book Tanya Bakes as he knew I had my eye on it. My friend Charlie and I made the Millionaires' Shortbread as soon as we got the chance and it was absolutely delicious! I can't wait to make more recipes, they're so simple and easy to follow.
We filmed the baking process, the video is below & the recipe is also in the video description box!
There's a Summer Clothing Haul coming next week, so make sure you Subscribe!
Enjoy xxxxx
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