When Life Gives You Lemons…

Have you ever had one of those days, the kind of day that you are over and done with before it even begins? The kind that hits you smack in the face the moment you open your eyes in the morning? Yes. Those. Well, I just had one of those. Truly, I don’t have many of those kinds of days, but occasionally they happen. And when they do, well, I just have to do something to get out of the funk. So, what do I do? I bake!

When I am down, I bake. When I am happy, I bake. When I am sick, I bake. I bake in my dreams too. Baking always makes me feel better and happier. Oh yeah! Tea always makes me happy too.

Yesterday was one of those funky days. So what did I do? I made Lemon Drizzle cake in cupcake form for our afternoon tea. I can’t even begin to tell you how scrumptious these little sweet and tangy morsels of goodness are! They are moist, tender and delicious, and have just the right amount of zing.

To make these you start out with a basic sponge, which I adapted from a Mary Berry cake recipe. Honestly, not many cakes can compare to this sponge. It is truly the best and it never fails. I have made it countless times, and each time the results are amazing! I chose to make cupcakes at my daughter’s request, but this will also yield a nice size loaf.

Here are some pictures of the process:

You need:

 1 1/2 Cup of Self Rising flour, 3 large eggs, 3/4 Cup of sugar, the zest of 2 lemons,

and 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature.

Cream all the ingredients together in a mixer bowl until smooth and well incorporated.

This batter is so silky and creamy.

I scoop it into the liners using two spoons. 

I have found that this gives me perfect and uniform cupcakes.

Bake at 350º for about 10 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the

center comes out clean.  

While the cake is baking, make the frosting. It should have a flowing consistency.

For the frosting you will need:

1/4 cup of lemon juice (or the juice of the 2 zested lemons), About 1 1/4 cups of powder sugar or as much as it’s needed to reach your desired consistency. Mix together and set it aside.

If too thin, add more sugar, if too thick, add more juice or a splash of cold water. Make as much or as little frosting as you like.

Here they are, freshly out of the oven and cooling.

After you take the cakes out of the oven and while they are warm, poke small holes all over and drizzle some frosting.

I purposely left space at the top of the cake and the liner for the frosting. You’ll see what I mean…

See? I want the frosting to pool at the edges and not drip off the sides. I love a good crunchy top! Yum!

Wait a couple of minutes and drizzle the remaining frosting over the cakes. By now the cakes have cooled and the frosting won’t soak into the cake anymore. Instead, you will have a layer of sweet frosting at the top. Let them sit for a few minutes so the frosting can dry. This makes the tops a bit crunchy. My favorite part!

We paired it with a nice cup of PG Tips, our favorite!

And my cup almost runneth over…Ha! Lots of milk, no sugar.

See that tender crumb? Nom nom!! I may or may not have eaten too many of these…

Friends, there will always be ” lemons” in life. And when those sour days come knocking at your door with a  big basket of lemons. Make cake. Lemon Drizzle cake that is… because life is always better with cake and a cup of tea, of course.

Enjoy!

~Ana

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