lemon

Lemon Drizzle Cake by Kevin

So I asked Michelle last week what she'd like to learn to bake, she said "ice-cream"....so that was find....then she said "Lemon Drizzle" a few days later. So that was also grand, talking to her yesterday I found out we were going to make both :) This was actually the second thing we started this morning. We began making ths once the custard for the ice-cream was cooling. But not to worry we'll begin here!

What you'll need:

For the Cake:

  • 175g softened butter, plus a bit to grease the loaf tin
  • 175g caster sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • Finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
  • 2 eggs
  • 75ml milk
  • 175g plain flower
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the glaze:

  • 100g caster sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat your over to 170°C/gas 3. Butter a 1kg loaf tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Beat the softened butter, sugar and salt in a large bowl till light and fluffy. Add lemon and whisk well till it's incorporated. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after you add in each one. (it kinda looks like scrambled eggs at this stage) Then add the milk. Combine. Sift in flour and baking powder together. Fold the mixture till it's well combined. Try not to over mix! Pour it into the prepared tin and level it off. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave it to stand in the tin for about 15 minutes. Turn it out onto a rack and leave to cool the rest of the way. Once cooled place it on your serving tray. To make the drizzle combine the lemon and sugar in sausepan. Stir gently till the sugar is dissolved. Keep heating till it becomes syrupy. Don't let it boil!

Prick the top of the cake, then pour the syrup all over the top. Don't let hot sugar land on your hand...it's not cool. The cake keeps in an airtight tin for about 4 days.

Zhoug (a kind of green harissa) by Kevin

Today has been a very busy day. Making condiments left right and centre. Zhoug is excellent with fish and rice. It doesn't last very long in the fridge but you'll have it for 2 weeks or so. It's just that the fresh coriander doesn't like sitting about very much.

Yep, spelled it wrong on the label. Damn you letter n

What you'll need:

  • 250g long green chillies
  • ½ teaspoon green cardamom seeds, green husks removed, finely ground
  • ⅓ teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
  • 4 tablespoon of roughly chopped fresh coriander
  • 1½ cloves of garlic
  • a small squeese of lemon
  • 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt & pepper

Chop the stems off chillis, cut them in half then with a teaspoon scrap membrane and seeds from the inside and roughly chop. Put everything except lemon and oil in a blender and pulse till everything is smooth. Transfer everything to a mixing bowl and add lemon and oil. Mix well and place in a sterilised jar. You should end up with just above 250g of Zhoug.

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