Lemon Drizzle Slices

 A mash-up between this recipe from Lakeland (basically only created to try and flog you their mini rectangular loaf tin) and this recipe from Mary Berry (who is too fabulous for words).

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I love lemon drizzle cake. If I'm out somewhere and that's an option on the menu, it's a no brainer. I am all over it. With a capital all. I love the light sponginess paired with the sharp citrus taste; it's such a perfect mix (and goes great with a cappuccino). So I went a-googling to see if I could find a relatively straight forward recipe. I found a couple that sounded doable but I don't like to bake huge portions (because wasting home-baked goods physically hurts my soul) so I kept searching until I found one, or in this case two, I felt confident in.

The reason this is a recipe mash-up is because the baking utensils vary slightly (there was no way I was rushing out to Lakeland to buy a mini loaf tin set), so I used Mary Berry's expert advice to bake this as one complete cake in a traybake tin. Sure, I could've used Mary's recipe in its entirety but I liked that the Lakeland version included ground almonds as I feel like they add an extra little summin-summin.

Prep time: Around 30 mins | Cooking time: 35 mins | Makes: 10 slices

INGREDIENTS:

• 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 2 unwaxed lemons
• 3 medium eggs
• 200g plain flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 50g ground almonds
• 2 tbsp milk

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a tin of 30cm x 23cm x 4cm and line with baking parchment.
2. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until pale, light and fluffy.
3. Grate the zest from the lemons (reserving a small amount to decorate), and add the rest to the mixture. Beat the eggs and gradually add to the mixture - stirring well each time.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using a large metal spoon, fold into the cake mixture, then fold in the ground almonds. Then add the milk and the juice from one lemon and mix until smooth.
5. Pour the mixture into the tin and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
6. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then ease out onto a wire rack and leave until completely cool.
7. Once cooled, sprinkle remaining lemon zest over the top of the cake and cut into even slices.

~ Eleanor xo