Heritage Lemon Cake

It's been a very quick start to 2012, time has flown by so fast that I didn't even realise tomorrow will be the last day of January! So to keep my promise to you, I will write about my amazing new cake tin! :)

I am in love with this tin.

I have been in love with this cake tin since I discovered the nordicware range years ago, since then I have never fallen out of love with it. Other tins have come and gone, but this is unique and has a special place in my cupboard for it.....

Oh Heritage Pan, how I love theee [sigh]! And a huuuge thank you to my brother who actually got the tin for me! It was a lovely moment when the cake was baked and we were eagerly anticipating for the cake to cool so we could invert the cake and see the gorgeous creation. It was a true drum roll moment!

I knew what I wanted to first bake with it from the moment I held the tin, a delicious zingy moist lemon cake!

It was absolutely gorgeous and I received so many compliments that I feel like gifting everyone now with a Heritage Lemon Cake! And can you see the gorgeous stand the cake is on?

It is my equally impressive Cath Kidston cake stand... which I too love! It was a beautiful gift from my beautiful friend Tamz, and I love getting it out and showing it off :)

SO...... although it is now January and we had some snow only just a few days. I am bringing smiles, sunshine and Spring into my house with this beautiful cake stand and delectable lemon syrup cake!

The recipe is from my trusted GoodFood magazine and is for a Lemon Drizzle cake which I have adapted as I wanted a shower of icing sugar on top instead of the drizzle icing. In order to keep it moist, I pricked and brushed some lemon syrup on to the cake before inverting and inverted it as soon as it cooled slightly.

Enjoy the recipe 'cos I sure did   ;-)

Zingy Moist Lemon Syrup cake

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3628/lemon-drizzle-cake

(with my adaptations

Ingredients

340g softened butter
300g caster sugar
lemons , 4 zested and 3 Juiced

6 medium eggs , lightly whisked

340g self-raising flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

70g ground almonds
icing sugar

Lemon syrup:

100g Caster sugar

50 ml fresh lemon juice (2 medium lemons)

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and flour the bundt tin carefully, making sure there are no ungreased areas. Beat the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl using an electric hand whisk until pale and creamy. Add the lemon zest and mix well. Whisk the eggs gradually into the butter mixture, beating well between each addition - don't worry if it curdles.

2. Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold into the cake mixture using a large metal spoon or spatula. Add the ground almonds and 3/4 of the lemon juice and fold until thoroughly combined. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out without any raw mix on it.

3. To make the syrup, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, stirring until a clear syrup is formed, about 3 minutes. Do not boil.