Lemon Drizzle Cake

When I was little we had a lemon tree in our backyard and my sister and I used to pluck the fat yellow ones and throw them at the spinning hills-hoist until they cracked open, and then eat the tangy-sweet inside. There's nothing quite like the scent of lemons. However, if eating straight lemon isn't for you then I suggest this dense lemony cake drenched in lemon syrup on the outside.

Recipe from Jules Stranbridge’s novel Sugar and Spice, published in 2009 by Little Black Dress, an imprint of Headline Publishing Group

Ingredients:

• 225g unsalted butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
• 275g self raising flour
• 6-8 tablespoons milk

Syrup:

• juice of 1 lemon
• 100g icing sugar

Method:

Grease and double-line tin. Pre-heat oven to 180°C ( – 160°C fan-forced). Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well. Add flour, folding in gently but thoroughly, and then the milk. Spoon into tin. Bake for approx 1hour or until golden and skewer comes out clean.

While cake is cooking, make the syrup. Put lemon juice and icing sugar into saucepan and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Take cake out of oven and puncture top of cake with skewer – pour syrup over it, ensuring middle and sides of cake absorb liquid. Ensure cake is completely cold before taking out of tin.