Nigella Lemon Drizzle Cake Food

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• This cake is a sort of Anglo-Italian amalgam. The flat, plain disc is reminiscent of the confections that sit geometrically arranged in patisserie windows in Italy; the sharp, syrupy sogginess borrows from the classic English teatime favorite, the lemon drizzle cake. It is a good marriage: I love Italian cooking in all respects save one - I find their cakes both too dry and too sweet. Here, though, the flavorsome grittiness of the polenta and tender rubble of ground almond meal provide so much better a foil for the wholly desirable dampness than does the usual flour.
• But there is more to it than that. By some alchemical process, the lemon highlights the eggy butteriness of the cake, making it rich and sharp at the same time. If you were to try to imagine what lemon curd would taste like in cake form, this would be it.
• Although I am greedily happy to slice and cram messily straight into my mouth, letting damp clumps fall where they will, this cake is best eaten - in company at least - with spoon and fork. Either way, consider it a contender for teatime comfort and supper-party celebration alike.
• For the cake: Line the base of your cake pan with parchment paper and grease its sides lightly with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the butter and sugar till pale and whipped, either by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon, or using a freestanding mixer.
• Mix together the almond meal, polenta and baking powder, and beat some of this into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by 1 egg, then alternate dry ingredients and eggs, beating all the while.
• Finally, beat in the lemon zest and pour, spoon or scrape the mixture into your prepared pan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. It may seem wibbly but, if the cake is cooked, a cake tester should come out cleanish and, most significantly, the edges of the cake will have begun to shrink away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its pan.
• For the syrup: Make the syrup by boiling together the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar in a smallish saucepan. Once the confectioners' sugar has dissolved into the juice, you're done. Prick the top of the cake all over with a cake tester (a skewer would be too destructive), pour the warm syrup over the cake, and leave to cool before taking it out of its pan.
• Make Ahead Note: The cake can be baked up to 3 days ahead and stored in airtight container in a cool place. Will keep for total of 5 to 6 days.
• Freeze Note: The cake can be frozen on its lining paper as soon as cooled, wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil, for up to 1 month. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature.

PERFECT EVERY TIME LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4
• Cream butter and sugar and add lemon zest and eggs, beating together well.
• Gently fold in the flour and the salt.
• Add milk and mix thoroughly.
• Spoon batter into your prepared tin and bake for around 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
• Next, make your syrup by putting the lemon juice and icing sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
• As soon as the cake is out of the oven, skewer all over and pour over the syrup.
• Be patient! Leave the cake to completely cool before removing from tin.
• For the glaze, combine the lemon juice and icing sugar and drizzle liberally over the cake.

LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Beat together the butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy, then add the eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through.
• Sift in the self-raising flour, then add the lemon zest and mix until well combined.
• Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
• Bake for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• While the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the lemons juice and caster sugar to make the drizzle.
• Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle - the juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping.
• Leave in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve. Will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

NIGELLA LAWSON CLEMENTINE CAKE

Steps:

• Place whole, unpeeled clementines into a pot and cover with cold water.
• Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and let cook 2 hours (she doesn't say to add any additional water in her recipe, but I imagine you may need to add some if too much simmers away).
• Drain, let cool, then cut each Clementine in half, remove seeds, and place in food processor- skins and all.
• Chop the Clementines in the processor finely.
• In a bowl, beat the eggs.
• Add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder to the eggs, mixing well.
• Add the chopped Clementines by hand and mix to combine.
• Pour batter into a greased and parchment lined 8-inch springform pan.
• Bake in a preheated 375 F oven for 40 minutes, then cover loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning and CONTINUE cooking about another 10 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan on a wire rack overnight.
• VARIATION: You can substitute an equal weight of regular oranges or lemons for the Clementines; increase the sugar to 1 1/4 cups if you do so.
• OPTIONAL GLAZE: If you wish, you may make a glaze from a little powdered sugar mixed with a bit of lemon juice and water and drizzle it over the top (see my recipe for Cinnamon Bun Icing for a good glaze).

LUSCIOUS LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Line the bottom of a well-oiled 23 x 13 x 7.5cm (9 x 5 x 3in) loaf tin with baking parchment.
• Put the eggs and sugar in the bowl of the food processor and process for 2 minutes, scraping the sides down once with a rubber spatula. Take off the lid and drop spoonfuls of the soft butter or margarine on top of this mixture, together with the lemon zest, then pulse just until it disappears. The mixture should now resemble mayonnaise.
• Add the flour, milk and salt, cover and pulse just until the mixture is smooth in texture and even in colour, scraping the sides down with a rubber spatula if necessary. Do not over-beat or the cake will be tough.
• Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and stand the tin on a cooling rack. To make the syrup, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, stirring until a clear syrup is formed, about 3 minutes. Do not boil.
• Prick the warm cake all over with a fork, then gently pour the syrup over it, until it has been completely absorbed.
• Leave until cool, then carefully ease the cake from the baking tin and remove the baking parchment.
• Just before serving, sift a little more icing sugar on the top. Serve in generous slices.