Occasion

Afternoon Tea

Anyone For Tea?

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Ireland’s finest tea since 1901

Barry’s Tea, gold blend

&

Lemon Drizzle Cake

from River Cottage Every Day

Tea For Two (Click To Zoom)

What better way to end butter week at la domestique than baking a cake? Since we’re having cake I threw on my tea party dress and brewed a pot of tea too! As I’ve mentioned before I’m an American married to an Irishman and the ritual of tea is a big part of our daily life. I always get excited when the husband asks me to put on a pot of tea, because that means we’re going to sit down and chat! Since the husband also happens to be my best friend, I happily brew a pot of tea and we talk about things best friends talk about. Tea time is a sit down at the table sort of thing that can’t be rushed, and it’s always better with a little something to nibble on- like cake!

I decided to try out Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe for “Lemon Drizzle Cake” from his new book River Cottage Every Day. I love everything River Cottage (British), and have been eagerly awaiting the U.S. edition of this book for months. I was a bit nervous as to how this cake would come out, because I live and bake at 5,000 feet of altitude in Colorado, and you just never know how a recipe will come out on the first try. The cake came out perfectly! Hooray!

Tea & Cake

To accommodate for the altitude, I reduced the sugar by 1 tablespoon, added an extra little splash of milk, and bumped my oven temperature up 15 degrees fahrenheit. Other than that I followed the recipe as Hugh wrote it. Lemon is my second favorite dessert flavor, after chocolate, my first love. “Lemon Drizzle Cake” gets lovely lemoniness from the zest of 3 lemons. Note: in baking, lemon juice imparts a tart flavor, while the zest contributes a true taste of lemon.

Hugh instructs the reader to cream the butter and sugar together for 5-10 minutes so the cake will have a very light crumb. The only other ingredients are eggs, a splash of milk, and self-rising flour. We don’t use self- rising flour so much in the U.S., but it is available in pretty much every grocery store. I keep it on hand for drop scones and other English sorts of things. To make your own self-rising flour: instead of 1 cup self-rising flour use 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

After the butter and sugar are creamed and  looking “pale and fluffy”, the eggs and lemon zest are added, and the flour is gingerly folded in to the mixture. The batter is then baked in a loaf pan at 350 degrees fahrenheit (or in my case, 365).  The cake is done after 45-50 minutes when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. After the cake has cooked in the oven, use a little skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake and then spoon a lemon icing over the top. The icing soaks into the hot cake, leaving it moist and glazed all the way through.

For the detailed recipe check out the book, River Cottage Every Day.

The cake was delicious: sweet and tart. I found it quite sweet with the confectioners’ sugar based icing, and would be tempted to use a bit less or even try the cake without the icing. Either way, I could barely restrain myself to two slices. I will definitely make this cake again- it’s quick, easy, and the recipe relies on basic pantry staples.

Now I think I’ll take a hot drop of tea and finish my cake. Have a lovely weekend, and thanks for reading.

Lemon Drizzle Cake