Make: Lemon Drizzle Cake

A couple of weekends ago, I had ample time on my hands (never happens) so I went through the Kinfolk cookbook in search of something sweet to bake for the weekend.  

I found the Lemon Drizzle Cake (on page 207) and hopped to the supermarket to pick up lemons.  I chose the recipe because I had everything but lemons on hand! 

The recipe is super easy.  

Ingredients for Cake:

Non-Stick Baking Spray (Next time I will try just plain old butter)

6 eggs (at room temp)

1 1/2 cups of sugar  

21 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter at Room Temp

Grated Zest of 4 Lemons

1/2 Tsp of Vanilla Extract (OR 1/2 of a vanilla bean split in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out)

2 Cups + 1 Tbsp self-rising flour

2 Tbsp boiling water

Ingredients for the Glaze:

1 1/2 Cups of Sugar

6 Ounces of Fresh Lemon Juice (basically all 4 of Your Prized Lemons)

Instructions:  

1) Preheat oven to 375 F. Put the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a 9x5 inch bread pan with parchment paper and spray with the non-stick spray. 

2) Blend the butter, lemon zest, and sugar together using a mixer or a whisk. (I was pretty excited that it whipped up this smoothly. I don't have a mixer, so I go old fashioned muscles and whisk).

Add the vanilla.  

3) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold the flour into the batter with a rubber spatula, then fold in the boiling water. 

4) Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour (uno houra) or until the toothpick comes out clean from the middle. 

Place a drying rack on top of a baking sheet (with room for the glaze to fall down into).  

Place the loaf, in the pan, on this for 10 minutes.  

5) While this is cooling,  combine the sugar and the lemon juice in a small saucepan over the stove. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved. 

6) Pull the cake out onto the rack, right side up. Poke holes in the top for the drizzle to go into. Drizzle the glaze all over the cake and allow it to cool completely for 1  hour. 

 We had it with coffee on our porch the next morning. And it was perfect for starting the hot summer day! I have found that I really really enjoy trying out my baking skills when I have a bit of extra time on my hands!

This is all courtesy of Kinfolk and their contributors. I love having this recipe book to get menus full of good flavors!  

Cheers to the hottest weekend ever! May you all have your air conditioning on and a cold beer before you turn on the oven. 

-Emily