Monday, August 13, 2012

No Sour Lemons Around Here!

a happy good morning on a sweet sunshiny monday to you!


are you in the mood for some more cookin'?
you will love this cake if you are.

a couple of weeks ago a friend gave me a plastic shopping bag
full of lemons.
i know i could have made lemon butter/curd or probably
a billion other things...
but most of them were too laborious...like lemon meringue pie...3 processes..hehe!

i wanted something quick and very lemony.

i found this 'lemon madeira cake' recipe
in a little fat book called '500 cakes'...a title that just calls it what it is,
by susanna blake...of whom i have never heard of before...have you?

on first taste it was voted unanimously
'a family favourite'.


lemon madeira cake

220g or 8oz butter at room temperature
140g or 5oz castor sugar, plus 1-2 tablespoons full for sprinkling
3 large eggs
170g or 6oz self raising flour
30g or 1 oz plain flour
1 lemon...zest & juice

beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. unfortunately i thought i was using raw castor sugar in this one and it was really ordinary raw sugar and i had to beat it extra hard to dissolve all those big crystals of sugar.
beat the eggs in one at a time.
sift the flours into the bowl and fold in.
add the lemon zest and juice and mix well.

spoon the batter into a large loaf tin that has been lined with silicone paper...i just tore a large square off and lined a glass loaf  dish..the beauty of this is that you don't have to grease the dish if it is fully papered and when cooked you just lift the whole loaf out, no worries.

sprinkle the top of the batter with sugar...
this makes a lovely crisp crunchy crust on top..mmm!
{saves icing it too}

bake for 55mins on 'fan' at 160 degrees celsius.

leave cake in tin for about 10 mins before lifting out...
then eat as soon as possible!

i made this one yesterday,
it's the perfect sunday afternoon tea cake.



my brother & partner came over for afternoon tea on their way home from brisbane.
they witnessed an accident on the highway about quarter of an hour from here,
so it was comfort food at its finest...with a nice cuppa tea..or diet coke.
{by the way..the young man in the accident had run off the road into a tree and broke his ankle but there were plenty of police, fireys and ambos to help him by the time they left the scene.}

this is about the fourth time in a month
that i have made this cake, we enjoy it so much..and so do our visitors.

do you use cake forks?
we didn't until about eight years ago when i found some beauties for half price at david jones'...
now even the men around the house use them!

i love mondays...
they are my only truly relaxing day, nothing planned at all.

i hope your day is stress free too...


naturally Carol xox









13 comments:

  1. that looks so yummy! and yes, it is a lovely sunshiny morning here in perth!!!
    have a great day carol!
    Laura xxx

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  2. I wish I had been there...for a sibling reunion. The cake sounds delicious! I think I'll have to try cooking it myself. I love lemony things. love Jill

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  3. Madeira cake with a little butter spread on it has been a favorite of mine since I was a wee lil girl. A must try!

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  4. I love the versatility of lemons..so useful for many recipes. I am quite partial to lemon cake and this looks delicious Carol..I might try tweaking it to make a healthier version :)
    x

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  5. Oh yum yum yum Carol, this one looks absolutely divine, thank you for sharing, I want to make this one right now!
    What a horrible experience for your brother and partner. Witnessing something like that can rattle you for a long time. My poor brother who drives a truck, saw a terribly tragic accident last week and it really upset him, for days later.
    We don't use cake forks here, just stock standard forks... though I wouldn't mind getting some sporks, I have heard that is what they're called anyway... half spoon, half fork. Great for desserts!
    xo

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  6. Yes please, I wouldn´t mind a slice!

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  7. YUM! That looks delicious, thanks for sharing. I've been making the 'All Together' cake from the Frankie afternoon tea book, and this one will be a tasty change I know my boys will love.x

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  8. I adore lemon, Carol, and I can't wait to make this cake! Yummy

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  9. Thank you Carol, this looks so delicious! I have missed new cake recipies. We need cake with our afternoon coffee! x Teje

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  10. yummy thanks Carol ,i will have to bake one :=)

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  11. Oh oh this looks delicious. I think some of my lemons have their name on it for this recipe. When they're quite ripe, I shall let you know xo

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i am delighted that you care enough to comment..i love to read each one of them..thank you!