♥❤ drizzle your shizzle

after being asked for a cake make recommendation

I realised that I haven't blogged one of my

signature cakes

so let's sort that out right now!

lemon drizzle cake

you will need ....

100g softened butter

175g caster sugar

175g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

6 tablespoons of milk

the finely grated zest of a large lemon

for the drizzle ~

75g caster sugar

the juice of the lemon you zested

which should be about 3 tablespoons

preheat your oven to 180c/ gas 4

line and grease a 18x28cm baking tin {or equivalent}

tip all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl

and beat for 2~3 minutes until mixture drops

easily from a spoon

pour into your prepared tin and smooth the top

bake for 30~40 minutes until golden and 

springy to touch

while it's baking mix the sugar and lemon juice 

for your drizzle

when the cake is baked & still hothothot

take a skewer and pierce the cake all over

spoon over the drizzle and leave to cool

it's super lemony treat!

❤❥♥♡ love everyday

it may well be Valentine's day tomorrow

but biscuits are delicious any day!

show yourself some loving and get baking

jammy dodgers

you will need ....

225g butter cut into squares

200g flour

100g caster sugar

115g ground almonds

some raspberry jam

icing sugar for dusting

place the butter, flour, ground almonds and sugar

into a food processor and blitz until it

starts to leave the sides and becomes

dough like

wrap in film and chill, preferably overnight:

preheat your oven to 140c/ gas 3

line some baking sheets with baking paper

half the dough, keeping the other half in the 

fridge for now

dust the side with flour and roll out the dough

using a 5cm cutter, cut out your dodger bases

put them onto a lined tray and bake for

30 minutes until golden

meanwhile, roll out the other half of dough

cut the out the rounds then cut out little

heart shapes in the centres

put them onto your baking trays {and the little

heart shapes too}

and put in the fridge until you are ready to bake them

for 30 minutes until golden

cool on a wire rack

when they are cooled 

dust the tops with icing sugar

put some raspberry jam into a bowl and mix until smooth

spread a little jam in the centre of the bases

and sandwich with the heart shaped tops

share with those you love!

❤

we sandwiched the little heart centres together 

with nutella for a double treat!

☃ oh la la

we had a fall of snow over the weekend

and it's still on the ground:

enough for us to stay home today and get baking:

ever since our holiday in France last year,

I have been trying to find a tin to make

those delicious small lemon scented

cakes called madeleines:

but rummaging in my cake tin drawer

I rediscovered this old tin:

it once belonged to the mother of a friend

of my mummy's:

he gave it to me years ago:

it is shallow enough to make madeleines

although not their usual cute shell shape:

this recipe is a mix of the many recipes 

I found online: 

so simple!

 madeleines with a hint of lemon

you will need .....

{makes around 24 small cakes}

2 eggs

75g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

100g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

the juice and zest of half a lemon

a scant few drops of vanilla extract

put the butter into a saucepan or microwave

 and heat gently until melted:

in a large bowl mix the eggs and sugar

add the grated lemon zest, juice and vanilla

then stir in the melted butter

sift in the flour and baking powder

and mix gently

it will be quite runny at this point:

cover with a teatowel and leave for at least an hour:

{there is a science part to that, something to do with gluten}

preheat the oven to 190c/ gas 5

brush your tin with melted butter and dust with flour:

spoon cake mixture into the tin

until 3/4 full

bake for ten minutes until risen and lightly golden:

remove from the tin and cool:

dust with icing sugar 

and enjoy with a good cup of tea or coffee:

slightly crisp on the outside and feather light inside:

these can be dunked too!

{keep in an airtight tin}

⌊⌋winter boost

this cold snap has me reaching for snacks 

to go with hot cups of tea:

always on the look out for new recipes

I was pleased to find this one from 

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall:

packed with good stuff and still tasty:

honey peanut butter bars

you will need ....

125g butter

150g soft brown sugar

125g crunchy peanut butter {we use whole earth as it has NO sugar!}

75g runny honey

grated zest of a lemon and/or orange

200g porridge oats

150g dried fruits {we used apricots, cranberries & raisins}

150g mixed seeds {we used pumpkin, sesame & sunflower}

preheat your oven to 160c/ gas 3

line and grease a 20cm square baking tin

{or equivalent}

put the butter, sugar, peanut butter, honey 

and grated zest into a saucepan 

and melt on a low heat:

stir in the oats, most of the seeds

and dried fruits and mix until combined:

smooth the top and sprinkle with the rest

of the seeds:

drizzle with a little more honey

and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden:

leave to cool completely then turn out

and cut into squares:

will keep for 5-7 days in an airtight tin:

if they last that long!