ORANGES & LEMON (CAKES)
I’m a terrible baker. Baking requires precision and concentration, both of which I am sadly lacking, but I do adore this orange cake (recipe below) for many reasons. One is how incredibly easy (and one bowl) it is to make. It’s almost impossible to screw up. It’s also incredibly delicious - moist and not overly sweet. Serve it with a good dollop of creme fraiche or ice-cream. (Sorry about the dodgy pic - I made this mini one, then made another one on the weekend and forgot to photograph it.)
The first recipe, for a ‘weekday lemon cake’ is not mine, (as you can tell by the lovely photography!) but comes from a new cookbook -The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment (Murdoch Books RRP $39.99). Because cake shouldn’t just be for weekends, right?
The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment
Weekday Lemon Cake
MAKES 1 LOAF CAKE
Plain (all-purpose) flour, to dust
220 g (7¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
225 g (8 oz) self-raising flour
125 g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs, lightly beaten
130 g (4½ oz) Greek-style yoghurt
60 ml (2 fl oz) full-cream (whole) milk
LEMON GLAZE
120 g (4¼ oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan-forced and grease a 1.5 litre (52 fl oz) loaf (bar) tin thoroughly with butter. Dust with a little plain flour, tapping out any excess.
Place the caster sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest through the sugar, releasing the oils and perfuming the sugar. Add the flour to the bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the melted butter, eggs, yoghurt, milk and lemon juice and whisk to a smooth batter, taking care not to overmix.
Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top with a spatula and tapping the tin lightly on the bench to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cool, make the lemon glaze. Combine the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and stir until smooth. Check the consistency of the glaze and add a little more lemon juice if needed until you have a nice drippy glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow to set (or not) before cutting the cake into thick slices and serving with a big cup of tea.
This cake with keep happily in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days.
TEA & BLOOMS MATCH
Earl Grey and white peonies.
GLUTEN-FREE ORANGE & ALMOND CAKE
2 large oranges
5 eggs
250g (1 1/4 cup) caster sugar
250g 2 3/4cups)ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
Orange Syrup
Juice of one orange
150g 3/4 cup) caster sugar
Boil oranges, whole, unpeeled for 40 minutes (keep the water topped up) and allowto cool.
Preheat oven to 160c and butter a 23cm spring form pan and line with baking paper.
Blitz oranges in a food processor until they look like marmelade, then add almponds, eggs, sugar and baking powder and blitz until combined. Bake for around 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Put sugar and juice in a pan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Poke a few holes in the cake with a toothpick while warm, and pour syrup over. Let cool in the tin. You can sprinkle with icing sugar or add orange slices. I like to also sprinkle a little chai spice on mine.
Let me know if you make either!