Lemon Drizzle Cake

This brings back memories of a summer's day.  I timed my visit to a friend's house to perfection - I arrived as the Lemon Drizzle Cake was being lifted out of the oven.  I love lemons but I'd never tasted a Drizzle Cake before.  I left with this recipe tucked in my pocket:

100g unsalted butter

250g caster sugar

3 large eggs

100ml milk

250g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

zest of 3 lemons

For the drizzle:

Juice of 3 lemons

100ml water

170g caster sugar

METHOD

Heat oven to 180°c.
Line and grease a loaf tin.

Beat the eggs, milk and sugar in a food processor until they are quite foamy.

Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder and mix well.

Add the lemon zest. Then melt the butter and stir it in to the batter.

Pour the mixture into the greased loaf tin.

Bake it for 50 minutes. Check it is thoroughly cooked by sticking a skewer into the middle (it should come out clean).  Leave cake in tin.

To make the drizzle, squeeze the lemon juice through a sieve into a heat-proof pouring jug.  (Wash and dry any lemon pips you find!)

Put the water and sugar into a pan over a medium heat. Bring the mixture up to the boil and boil it for 4 minutes. No longer or you could end up with tasteless toffee!

Pour the sugar mixture into the jug with the lemon juice and mix them together.

Pour as much of the lemon drizzle mixture onto the cake as you can and leave the cake to absorb for 20 minutes. If the cake becomes reluctant to absorb any more liquid, stop pouring.

Carefully remove the cake from the tin (there may be some of the drizzle left, unabsorbed in the bottom of the tin), transfer it to a wire rack and allow it to completely cool to room temperature

When the cake is cold, slice it and serve.

Once you are refreshed you can go and plant those lemon pips! .... you'll have lovely Christmas presents in five years' time.