Lemon and Cardamom Drizzle Cake
Serves: 6
Preparation: 20 min plus cooling and 40 mins baking
Ingredients
- 225g salted butter, softened
- 125g light soft brown sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 225g self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 11/2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 50g granulated sugar
- Icing sugar, for icing
- Freeze-dried raspberries and dried rose petals, optional
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 170C/Gas 4. Lightly grease and baking paper baseline a 2lb/900g loaf tin.
- Using an electric whisk beat together the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until pale. Beat in the cardamom powder and lemon rind. Beat in the eggs gradually adding 1 tbsp of the flour if it starts to curdle. Sift over the remaining flour and baking powder and fold in with the juice of 1 lemon and poppy seeds. Spoon into the prepared tin, level surface and bake for 40 minutes, until risen and golden or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Using a small metal or wooden skewer piece the cake about 20-30 times. Mix together the remaining lemon juice and sugar. Spoon over the cake evenly and allow to absorb in. Allow cooling completely in the tin.
- Unmould cake and place on a serving plate. Mix together enough icing sugar and water to make a thick consistency and either spoon or using a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle, pipe zigzags over the cake. Scatter over raspberries and rose petals, if using and leave to set.
Recipes and food styling by Liz Martin. Photography: Michael Dannenberg. This recipe was first published in WI Life magazine.