While meeting up to have lunch around town always makes for a nice outing, there is just something extra special about hunkering down into a beautiful plush sofa in an elegant sitting room while wonderfully polite men in impeccably tailored suits present you with tiers of exquisite finger sandwiches and mouth-watering pastries.
This outing inspired me so much that this weekend I decided it was the little kick I needed to perfect a few recipes of my own so that an afternoon of tea and sweets might also be enjoyed from our own cosy lounge and not reserved strictly for occasional outings to London’s incredible tea rooms. (Although I’m always thrilled to have an excuse to discover another hidden gem in town!)
This was also the perfect opportunity to play with a recipe from my new Primrose Bakery Book. If you’ve read my blog for even a short time, you probably already know I’m a pretty huge stalker devotee of the Hummingbird Bakery and their fabulous recipes (such as their impossibly awesome black bottom cupcakes which I’d probably consider selling my soul for if you caught me at the right moment.)
But this is afternoon tea, and cupcakes won’t quite cut it for the occasion. I was looking for something a bit more refined. A bit more delicate. Something kinda sorta, just about, almost exactly like this super moist and surprisingly zingy English lemon cake. BINGO!
This is a cake suitable for tea service at the St. James. A cake you can break out the good silverware for. And maybe if I’m SUPER lucky (AKA bribe him like mad) I’ll even be able to twist my dear hubby’s arm to put on one of his sleek tailored suits and come pour me a cuppa. Yeah, it’s that kind of cake. Enjoy!
English Lemon Tea Cakes Recipe
Let’s take a look at how to make these Lemon flavored tea cakes:
Ingredients
For the cake:
155 grams self-raising flour
1tsp vanilla extract (optional)
155 grams caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
20 grams cornflour
150 grams butter
3 eggs
1 large lemon lemon (juice and zest)
For the drizzle:
160 grams granulated sugar
2 lemons
How To Make
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
Grease a standard size loaf tin.
Combine the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and cornflour into a bowl and mix well (electric mixer or hand blender recommended).
Add the butter, eggs and the zest and juice of 1 large lemon and blend evenly until mixture is smooth
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for about 35-40 mins until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
For the drizzle, squeeze 2 lemons until all juice is extracted into a bowl.
Add the granulated sugar and stir well as it dissolves.
Prick the entire surface of the cake with a fork.
Pour the drizzle over the cake until the surface is evenly covered.
Allow drizzle to fully set before removing cake from tin.
Enjoy!!!
