Easy Lemon Cake...

...on a Christmas plate! Too soon? I think so. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line two 8 inch baking tins. This is an all in one recipe so all you will need is an ingredient list! 

Sponge

225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
225g caster sugar
225g butter/margarine
4 eggs
juice of half a lemon
zest of one lemon

Filling

Lemon Curd

♥ ♥

Wendy

XO

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Flatbread Pizza

So far this has been the easiest 'bread' recipe that I have attempted. It would be a great recipe to try if you have never tried baking bread before! I usually use a stand mixer to make bread :) Preheat the oven to 200^°C and it will take 20 minutes to bake on an oiled baking tray.

Sweet Chili Dip on the side...

Bread

450g strong white bread flour

½ tsp easy-blend yeast

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

300ml lukewarm water

• sift the flour and salt into the mixer, then stir in the yeast.
• add the oil and mix with a paddle until it comes together.
• scrap the mixture away from the bottom of the mixer and sift in some flour (the same as you flour a surface before kneading!) and mix on low for 10 minutes. 
• once smooth and elastic, brush a clean bowl with oil, shape the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl.
• cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise in warm place for an hour, or until it doubles in size. 
• turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface , knock back and knead for 1 minute or so.
• roll out the dough, put it on the baking tray, cover as before and leave to rise for 20-30 minutes. 
• before baking, make indentations all over the surface of the dough and drizzle over some sea salt and olive oil.
• after 12 minutes, remove the bread, add your pizza toppings and bake for further 7 minutes. 
• Enjoy!

Wendy 

XO

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Lemon and Lime Cake

This is one of my favourite cakes to bake - the lime gives it a little extra 'zestyness' :) Preheat the oven to 180◦C and grease your tins and line the bottoms. (It’s easier to use two – less cooking time, and if you have a divider http://www.kitchencookware.ie/baking/cake-decoration/cake-leveler/ you can divide it in four, you can get them cheap in ikea too)

Sponge

250g unsalted butter, soft

250g caster sugar

4 eggs

250g self-raising flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1-2 tbsp. Milk

1 tbsp. Lemon juice (heat them in the microwave before juicing)

1 tbsp. Lime juice

The zest of a lemon

The zest of a lime

• Put the butter, caster sugar and zest into an electric mixer and cream together for 7 minutes.
• Add the eggs, one by one and mix for 2 minutes at a time.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add it to the mix until it’s all incorporated.
• Add the milk and juices and mix for a further minute.
• Divide between your baking pans and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (may take longer depending on oven/how wet the mixture is).
• Remove when ready and leave to cool a while before taking them out of the tins to cool fully.

Lemon and Lime Syrup

50g golden caster sugar

50ml water 

¼ tsp. Lemon juice 

¼ tsp. Lime juice

• For the syrup, heat the sugar and water in a pan. Bring to the boil slowly, stirring well until the sugars dissolved. Remove from heat, cool and then add the juice.
• Pierce the cake with a skewer and pour over the syrup (use a little teaspoon).

Icing

125g unsalted butter, the softer it is the easier it is to make

350g icing sugar

50ml between remainder lemon and lime juice 

•  For the icing, cream the butter and juices together for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
•  Add the icing sugar and blend for a further 2 minutes.
• When icing the cake put a really thin layer on first to stop the crumbs ruining your icing, then decorate.

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