dillymug 
Back in November and December when I was pregnant with the twins we went to our local NCT ante-natal classes. We were very lucky to be part of a group that get on well and ever since we’ve been having regular meet ups. It’s been a really positive experience as we share our ups and downs and recommend various different baby groups to each other. I offered to host our weekly gathering this week and thought it was the perfect opportunity to get back in the kitchen for a bit more baking. Following on from the lemon meringue cake I made in my last post I had some lemons leftover. I’d seen this Mary Berry recipe ages ago and decided it was the perfect recipe to use up the leftover lemons.
This is such an easy recipe with delicious results. You literally put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix them up, bake, add the topping and your done. When you’ve got limited time, (or in my case you’ve got to get it baked before bath time!) this cake is perfect. You will need a 30 x 23 x 4 cm traybake or roasting tin (mine was a little bit smaller and was still fine).
Ingredients:
For the cake:
225g unsalted butter (softened)
275g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
For the topping:
175g granulated sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
Method:
1) Grease and line a 30 x 23 x 4 cm traybake or roast tin with non-stick baking parchment. Preheat your oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3.
2) Measure all the ingredients for the traybake into a large bowl and using an electric hand mixer beat well for about 2 minutes until well blended (you can of course use a wooden spoon but this will take longer). Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin, scraping the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula to remove all of the mixture. Level the top gently with the back of the spatula.
3) Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the traybake springs back when pressed lightly with a finger in the centre and is beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
4) Allow the traybake to cool in the tin for a few minutes then lift the traybake out of the tin still in the lining paper. Carefully remove the paper and put the traybake onto a wire rack placed over a baking tray (this will be to catch drips of the topping).
5) To make the crunchy topping, mix the lemon juice and granulated sugar in a small bowl to give a runny consistency. Spoon this mixture evenly over the traybake whilst it is still just warm. (If you do this too early it may run straight through. The cake needs to be still warm when the topping is added so that it absorbs the lemon syrup easily, leaving the sugar on top.) Once completely cool cut into squares.
