Let them eat cake

Easter weekend was pretty inconveniently timed this year and was over my mum’s and my brother’s birthday so not only were we busy present-buying and celebrating but it meant that my desire to back an Easter cake this year was met by two family members who were also hungry for their own birthday cakes too. But instead of going overboard and doing three cakes over one weekend, I settled for two and my mum’s doubled up as the Easter cake too. So first up the Lemon Drizzle, minus the loaf tin, plus some buttercream. Find the original recipe here, and my altered recipe below…

Ingredients-

Zest of 1 lemon, plus half the lemon for juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

225g baking margarine (I used Stork)

225g caster sugar

4 free range eggs, beaten

225g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp milk

Bag of mini eggs, or other decoration of your fancy

(For the lemon buttercream, to sandwich)

Batch of plain vanilla buttercream- enough to fill one cake

Half of the lemon for juice (plus extra if you feel it necessary)

(For the lemon syrup, quantities for covering just one half- obviously double up if you want to do both)

2 tbsp demerara sugar

Juice of one lemon

Method-

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas 4 and prepare two 20cm sandwich cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.   
2. Put the lemon zest, vanilla, baking margarine and sugar into a large bowl and beat until pale and fluffy.
3. Gradually add the beaten eggs with a little of the flour, mix and then repeat until all the egg is gone. Fold in the rest of the flour and the baking powder, make sure not to overbeat! Finally add the milk and then spoon equally into the two tins.
4. Bake for 25 minutes. This is approximate because I waited until it had risen and was coming away from the sides of the tin. I also turned up the oven an extra 10 degrees towards the end for a few minutes to produce the gorgeous golden-brown colour on top. 

5. While the cake is still warm, poke holes in the cake with cocktail sticks. Mix together the demerara sugar and lemon juice until the sugar looks as though it's beginning to disssolve. Pour over the cake (one or both, depending on what you fancy- I did both and it gave it a wonderful texture), aiming it around the holes so that it sinks in.

6. Leave to cool and remove them from the tins. When completely cool, peel off the baking paper from the bottom.

5. Make your batch of buttercream (sorry for not putting something more detailed here- I don't think I have ever measured quantities of buttercream, I just add and taste until it's tasty and I have the right amount!) and mix in the lemon juice. I went for quite a weak taste here because of the already lemony sponge and syrup. When the cakes are cool, spread the buttercream onto one of the cakes, placing the other one on top when you've finished. Use any leftover to blob on the top with a piping bag and top with your decorations of choice.