Page 44 - Phonebox Magazine October 2016

Lemon Drizzle Bake O
How hard can it be?
Have you been inspired by Bake off? Well the esteemed editor of the Phonebox decided that he and his wife Debbie would have a lemon drizzle bake-off. Surely it can’t be too hard?
Ron
The last time I helped in the baking of a cake I remember the best bit was licking the bowl afterwards ... and nearly falling off the kitchen table which I was seated on by my mum! How dif cult can it be?
So to start I chose a recipe made up by Mary Berry, I mean, you can’t go wrong with that, can you?
The rst thing I noticed was that you had to use one and a half eggs. Well, we didn’t have one and a half eggs in the fridge so, being a tad conservative, and seeing that Debbie had created a monster cake, I decided one egg would be enough. So one egg went into the mix; but wait a moment, that’ll mean a few changes to the other amounts, so relying on lady luck and with ngers crossed I guessed
the amounts of self-raising, caster sugar, margarine (we had some butter available, but I use that on Gareth’s bread so I’m keeping that for breakfast with my boiled eggs), and baking powder, so basically it’s not Mary B’s recipe at all, it’s mine; which makes things much more interesting. Unfortunately, of course, I’ll have no one else to blame. Anyway, with pretty much a cavalier attitude I mix everything up, grease the pan and spoon it in. The mix left in the bowl I nish off myself, and it tastes good.
With added con dence, and seeing Debbie’s monolith ooding out of the top of the baking tin and looking very well done on top, I decide the crunchy lemon icing is going to have a special zing to it so I double the amount of lemon for extra effect.
When the cake eventually comes out of the
oven it looks great, rather small compared with its elder brother on the worktop, but quite perfect in every way. I then pierce the cake with a vengeance and pour the lemon drizzle lucre into it.
A small time later and with the cake still warm it is tasted...and it is just how I like a cake...[honest]. To call it drizzled-on would
Mary Berry’s lemon drizzle cake recipe
For the lemon drizzle cake:
11⁄2 large eggs.
87.5g (3 oz) self-raising our. 87.5g (3 oz) caster sugar. 87.5g (3 oz) softened butter. 3⁄4 level tsp baking powder. Finely grated zest of 1⁄2 lemon.
For the crunchy lemon icing:
50g (2 oz) granulated sugar
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
You’ll also need:
450g (1lb) loaf tin, greased and lined
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180oC, gas 4.
2. Beat together the eggs, our, caster sugar, butter, baking powder
and lemon zest until smooth in a large mixing bowl and turn into
the prepared tin.
3. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 35 mins, or until golden
brown, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to
the touch.
4. While the cake is still warm, make the lemon drizzle topping.
Mix together the sugar and lemon juice, and pour over the warm
cake.
5. Leave to cool a little and loosen the sides of the cake, then lift
the cake out of the tin.
BBC Good Food Recipe
For the lemon drizzle cake:
225g unsalted butter, softened 225g caster sugar
4 eggs
Finely grated zest 1 lemon 225g self-raising our
For the drizzle topping:
Juice 11⁄2 lemons 85g caster sugar
Method:
1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Beat together 225g softened unsalted butter and 225g caster sugar until pale and creamy, then add 4 eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through. Sift in 225g our, then add the nely grated zest of 1 lemon and mix until well combined. Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
2.
Bake for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the juice of 1 1/2 lemons and 85g caster sugar to make the drizzle. Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle – the juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping. Leave in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve. Will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
44 Phonebox Magazine | October 2016