It seems the only reason for cooking lately is to do something in way of thanks for all the lovely kindness we have been shown by our friends and family through this shitty thing that we are going through. We are blessed to have the comfort and support that we do, it certainly helps a great deal. This recipe looked like a nice way of saying thanks to a couple of people who have just been so good to us, it seems like so little to bake a cake, but it is what I can do and I know they appreciate it.This loaf looked mouth watering so I had to give it a go. I have a huge bowl of lemons and just the most fabulous lemon zester that is always motivation enough to get cooking!!!!! I was also given some utterly gorgeous free range bantam eggs, which I think helped to make it even more delicious!
It is a breeze to make and I will be giving it another go.......making loaves is so much easier for some reason, and I always seem to have the right shaped container to give them away in!
Crunchy Topped Lemon Loaf (I doubled this recipe to make 2 loaves)For the loaf:
115g butter
150g caster sugar
2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
2 eggs
180g flour
1 tsp baking powder
125mls milk
For the topping:
70g caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Set oven to 180C. Lightly grease a medium size loaf tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in lemon zest. Add eggs, one at a time, then fold sifted dry ingredients and mix in alternately with the milk. (I just banged it all into the food processor, I am a heathen!!!!)
Pour mixture into prepared tin and smooth top. Bake for 40 mins. The cake will be a beautiful golden brown with a long crack running along the top and should be just pulling away from the sides of the tin. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack, still in the tin.
For the topping, combine the sugar and juice in a bowl and spoon over the baked loaf while still hot. Finish cooling the loaf in the tin then turn out carefully. Store in an airtight container
