The Constant Baker

Archive for November, 2011

My mother-in-law and I have been passing recipes back and forth over email. It’s a nice way to keep in touch and share our similar passion for cooking and baking. One of the latest recipes is for something called a “luscious lemon drizzle cake”. It’s a moist, flavour-packed loaf cake perfect for afternoon tea (or breakfast J ). The lemon zest infuses every bite and the sweet lemon drizzle creates a very moist (but not soggy) texture that holds when you cut, keeps for a few days and travels well too. I’ve made two in the last week and perhaps the next best thing to eating it is how quick and easy it is. You will always have the ingredients on hand if you’re a regular baker. Also interesting to note is the use of margarine. I don’t often cook with margarine but I found the texture to be so good the first time, I didn’t want to mess around with it the second time. I used President’s Choice celeb olive oil margarine which made the cake low in saturated fat compared to using butter (waistline win!).

A note about the flour. S.R. for those of you who don’t know (myself included), is self raising, not regular sifted as I so cleverly thought. In short, it’s flour with a leavening agent. I’ve been using all-purpose (nutri-blend to be specific) both times without baking powder and love the cake. Try it either way!

Thank you Caz, for this delicious addition to my baking repertoire and also allowing me to share this delicious recipe. It’s definitely going to be that go-to dessert!

Luscious Lemon Drizzle Cake

Luscious Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe

Cake
4oz (1/2 cup) Soft margarine
6oz (3/4 cup) Caster sugar
6oz (3/4 cup) S.R. Flour
4 Tablespoons milk
2 Large eggs

Finely grate the rind of 1 lemon. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Set oven to 350f or gas mark 4.

Cream the marg and sugar, add eggs, sifted flour and finely grated lemon rind and milk.Mix well to a soft dropping consistency, place in the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until firm.

Syrup for the top
2 Rounded tablespoons of icing sugar
Squeeze the lemon and use 3 tablespoons

Sift the icing sugar and add the lemon juice a bit at a time to prevent lumps, this can be done while the cake is cooking, as soon as the cake is out of the oven spoon the syrup over the top evenly.

Leave the cake in the loaf tin until completely cold, after it is cold then it can be turned out.

Photo Credits: Craig

Tonight after work, my husband and I took an unexpected trip to the new “Dutchie’s Fresh Market”. We were pleasantly surprised to find an array of fresh produce and meats and all at a great price. We were surprised because the first time we drove by the store shortly after its grand opening, the doors appeared dingy and dirty leading us to believe the inside would be much the same. Far from it, in fact, it was spacious, clean and the staff were terribly friendly.

Craig’s wandering eye led to the meat counter and with one look at the Oktoberfest sausages, he suggested he make dinner; a traditional English dinner of Bangers and Mash. Delighted not to have to think of something to make with the bits and pieces in the freezer, I congratulated him for his great idea and we grabbed some really good looking white potatoes and some fresh (not to mention, cheap!) sausages. I wasn’t just excited that I didn’t have to make dinner, but I was excited about the meal itself. Bangers and Mash is not something I have ever made myself, nor is it typically something I would choose in a restaurant.

While Craig masterfully cooked and mashed the potatoes with a variety of tools including my brand new pastry blender (pointing out that we really do need a potato masher), I made some accompanying jalapeno cheddar cornbread (a fabulous recipe courtesy of CooksIllustrated*). Craig served me up a mountain of creamy mashed potatoes and a generous serving of two sausages. I added a piece of piping hot cornbread for colour and then we doused the plate in Bisto – instant gravy that I’d never heard of but Craig was quite familiar with given his British heritage. He told me that one of his friends from back home was nick-named Bisto because he can be a bit “thick”… like the gravy. Classic Craig commentary.

The meal was just as Craig described, comforting, filling and perfect for a chilly day (even though it was 11 degrees outside, there were rumblings of winter mittens and Eskimos). After dinner, I had to know a little bit more about Bangers and Mash. I found some interesting history on Wikipedia which explains that the sausages, particularly those made during the war for rationing, had a much higher concentration of water which could lead to explosion (give way to the term “bangers”). Also noteworthy is the fact that Keith Richard’s provides his own Bangers and Mash recipe in his auto-biography – perhaps that’s the secret to his longevity.

Creamy mashed potatoes, Oktoberfest sausage, thick Bisto gravy and jalapeno cheddar cornbread.

*Cooks Illustrated has magazine and online subscriptions which is why I won’t post their recipes on my blog. It is totally worth the money and I will continue to buy a membership to ensure they deliver the same incredible recipes that are perfected by their TestKitchen.