Lemon Drizzle Cake

It's probably wrong to give a cake as a birthday present and then sneak a slice for the road.

Summer tastes like lemons. The only way to eat cake in summer is to make it so light it floats and so sweet and tangy you squint.  This cake is just like that.

115g unsalted butter
2 cups caster sugar
3 medium eggs
Juice and Zest of 2 lemons

2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Lemon Drizzle
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 cup Castor sugar

Lemon Icing
Juice and Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Butter a 9inch cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar in a blender until fluffy. Add the eggs and 2 lemons and their zest. In separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder and salt. Fold this into your wet mix. Pour into cake tin and put in the oven for 30-40mins (until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean). Take out of the over and prick all over with a cocktail stick or a fork. Pour over the lemon drizzle. Let the cake cool out of tin. After 30 Min's add the lemon icing on top.

Karahi Panneer & Lamb Bhuna

Midweek Feasting Not Advised

Lately I've got all obsessed with Madhur Jaffrey and Anjuman Anand their dishes are all brilliant yellows and pomegranate dew but with a homeliness and warmth that shines through as though the dishes have a history back to forever. Time to learn how to cook Indian food (although I wouldn't recommend making the amount I have listed here, unless your ready for some serious overeating mind highs, where you literally roll around and squirm on the floor pathetically for about 1 - 2 hours post feasting)

Naan Bread (makes 6)

Cucumber Raita 

Mango Chutney

Their recipes are really easy to follow, Madhur Jaffrey's naan bread was so mellow it was almost creamy in taste. My Raita didn't work out as well as planned, but I didn't quite follow the recipe as I was really craving cucumber and went for it instead of the beetroot twist.

Karahi Paneer

The Karahi Paneer, is heavy on oil. Which was kinda of exciting (8 tbl spoons). There's hardley ever a recipe I use that's not for cake that actually allows me to use that amount without niggling guilt. It looked fantastic, the oil draws the flavour out of the spices and it became rich and glossy. Unless you are serving it as a main as a vegetarian dish I would ditch the paneer (if it's shop bought like mine, kinda bland) and add some more peppers in.

Lamb Bhuna

Lamb Bhurna. Star of the show. So I learnt that Bhuna is a method where a sauce is cooked and cooked and cooked (1 hour 1/2 ) until it reduces and becomes so thick it just clings to the meat and you end up with a dry-ish dish. It really works, the lamb was cooked to perfection and packed right the way through with flavour and wowness. I'm speechless.

In no way does this photo do justice to the food
(I promise it did taste kinda out of this world)