Lovely Lemon Loaf Cake

Lovely Lemon Loaf Cake 

After a month of interning and returning to university (hence my absence from the blogosphere), I decided that I could do with a sweet treat. I love lemon cakes, they remind me of Spring and sunshine. Plus, I wanted to try out a recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. This delicious cake is perfect with some iced tea, as the sun goes down. 

Ingredients:  

320g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

Grated Zest of 2 Unwaxed Lemons

350g Plain Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

250ml Whole Milk

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

200g Unsalted Butter, melted

Lemon Syrup:

Freshly Squeezed Juice and Zest of 1 Lemon

50g Caster Sugar 

A 23 x 13 cm Loaf Tin - Greased and Dusted

Makes 8-10 Slices 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C (325F) Gas 3

2.  Put the sugar, eggs and lemon zest into a bowl and beat with a handheld electric whisk and beat until well mixed. 

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in another bowl. Add 1 third of the flour mix to the sugar mix and beat well. Then beat in 1 third of the milk mix. Repeat twice more until everything is added. Turn the mixer/whisk speed to high and beat until light and fluffy.

4. Turn the mixer/whisk down to low, pour in the melted butter and beat until incorporated. 

5. Pour mix into the prepared loaf tin and bake in oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched. 

For the syrup: 

Whilst the cake is in the oven, add lemon juice and zest, sugar and 100 ml water in a small saucepan and bring to boil on a low heat. Raise heat and boil until it has reduced by half. When the hot cake comes out of the oven, put on a wire rack and pour syrup over the top. Leave to cool in the tin and then remove and put on wire rack.

Lipstick&Marzipan - TIPS: I added less sugar to the recipe as the lemon syrup adds sweetness to it. After a couple of days the cake tastes even better as the syrup sets into it. Yum. It stays well when wrapped in greaseproof paper 

Recipe: The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook available at Amazon