We are putting up a photo wall in our kitchen/ dining rooms where some of the photos will be of us and the boys but the majority will include my boyfriends wonderful macro photography and some of my food photos. So on Saturday we went to the shops to print the photos we had selected for the wall. After printing the photos we thought we would take a look at a nearby furniture shop to see what lounge suites they had as we had been looking for a new one for some time but hadn’t found anything we liked. As soon as we walked into the shop we found the one we wanted. A buttery soft leather 3 seater sofa with chaise and matching ottoman.
We had absolutely no intention of buying a new lounge suite when we went looking, we merely went to look at what was available, but there we were in the store negotiating to buy. Isn’t it always the way that when you aren’t looking for something the perfect thing finds it way to you? The same thing happened when we purchased our home theater system and never did that saying hold more truth than when my wonderful boyfriend and I met. Some things were just meant to be.
When I saw this Candied Lemon Cake I knew was meant to make it. Donna Hay’s recipes are always wonderfully quick and easy and this one is no exception. You don’t even need to cream butter and sugar. So it’s perfect to make for afternoon tea on those days that you feel like something freshly baked but with little effort. It also looks great too, topped with candied lemon slices.
The Candied Lemon Cake’s deliciousness obviously taunted my boyfriend because he suggested I hurry up and take photos of the cake as he couldn’t wait to dive into it. I was only too happy to oblige because, to be honest, I couldn’t wait either. When we finally did dive into the cake it certainly didn’t disappoint. It was deliciously lemony and moist and definitely a cake I will make again.
Now if you are wondering what to do with the remaining 6 egg yolks, stay tuned for Wednesday. Again, some things are just meant to be.
Have you gone out to purchase something and come home with something completely different that you didn’t expect to find at all?
Rick Stein’s Food Odyssey stage show is happening throughout Australia during March and April, and as part of the tour he is running a competition to look for Australia’s ultimate dish. I’m entering my Candied Lemon Cake into the competition. While lemons aren’t a national food, lemons immediately make me think of sunshine, summer and smiles with their wonderful colour and refreshingly zingy scent, and when most people think of Australia they think of sunshine, summer, sand and beaches. Also, this cake is remarkably quick and easy to make, which is perfectly suited to Australia’s relaxed lifestyle.
Candied Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- cup plain flour sifted, 75g, all-purpose
- 1 cup ½ icing sugar sifted, 240g, confectioner's
- 1 cup almond meal 120g, ground almonds
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 6 egg whites
- 90 g butter melted
- 110 ml of vegetable oil
SLICES CANDIED LEMON
- 1 cup ½ caster sugar 330g, superfine
- 2/3 cups water 160ml
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF) and grease a 23cm cake tin and line it with baking paper. I used a spring form tin, but a regular cake tin will do.
- Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl and add the almond meal and lemon rind. /mix well to combine.
- Add the egg whites, butter and olive oil and mix well to combine. The batter will look incredibly moist, but don't worry, this is how it should be.
- Pour into the prepared cake tine and bake for 20–30 minutes (the time will vary depending on your oven but I suggest checking after 20 minutes) or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate.
- To make the candied lemon slices place the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the lemon slices and bring to the boil and cook for 12–15 minutes or until the syrup has thickened and the lemons are translucent.
- Scoop the lemon slices out of the syrup onto a plate and pour the syrup over the cake and top with the lemon. Allow to cool before serving.
