A little slice of Hollywood

I don't endorse a cookbook lightly. The only cake baking book I have ever recommended to a friend is Mary Berry's Ulitmate Cake Book.  I have had my copy for years and it is properly filthy, which is really how I like to see a recipe book. A pristine copy on a shelf tells you all you need to know about it's dispensable content. Every single recipe I have tried in Mary's book has worked and been delicious. I have baked her recipes for birthdays, Christmas, weddings and funerals and all the days in between.

I am still a sucker for something new and couldn't resist ordering Paul Hollywood's How to Bake recently. Primarily I was interested in the bread baking, but it's got some lovely cake and dessert recipes as well and I have been curious about the lemon curd in Paul's recipe for Mrs Post's Lemon Drizzle Cake since the book arrived. The house has shuddered to it's termly hush this morning and there was a pressing need to clean six weeks of congealed playtime from every surface. So I baked instead.

We like a lemon drizzle in this house. But not from a shop. For me it's got to have a dark crust on the outside with plenty of crunch to the syrupy top. It should be plain without a hint of cloying sweetness.  I want it prepared and cooked in less than an hour with minimal washing up. I made this while I was waiting for a flooring man who was running a bit late.

Cream together 75g butter with 125g of caster sugar, then mix in 150g of self raising flour with 1 tsp of baking powder, a hefty tablespoon of lemon curd, 2 eggs and 2 1/2 tablespoons of full fat milk. Bake in a loaf tin for 40 mins or so at 180°C. While the cake is hot, pour over the juice and zest of 1 lemon mixed with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Leave to cool completely, if you can bear to.

One of the most useful things in my baking cupboard is my pack of Loaf tin liners. As much as it seems very wholesome to fashion your own from a roll of paper, this is a much better solution.

I think there could have been a drop or two more syrup - next time I might bother to ding the lemon in the microwave before squeezing to get a bit more juice. The cake is incredibly soft and light. A sweet taste of summer to soothe away the indignities of the school day.