Lemon Cake | Book of Elsa

• Ingredients:
• Finely grated zest of 3 large lemons mixed with 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 350g Plain Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 225g Unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 400g Caster Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 200ml Buttermilk or Whole Milk with a table juice of lemon juice added

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180℃. 

Grease and flour your choice of baking tin. Or line a tin with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment whisk the butter until fluffy. 

Add the sugar and mix until it resembles soft ice cream.

Add all other ingredients except the zest and juice mixture and mix into a smooth batter.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the zest mixture and mix for another few seconds.

Pour batter into a prepared tin and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and half. 

Cake is done when a skewer comes out clean.

place on a wire rack to cool completely.

https://youtu.be/PxVLWt3fF4M

Sweet Saffron Bread with Cranberries | Book of Elsa

Sweet Saffron Bread with Cranberries

A Christmas Grinch | Book of Elsa

The forced cheerfulness, the crowds, the inevitable rain and anxiety about ones’ whole family gathering in one place can bring me out in hives if I’m perfectly honest. But I do love food and this year I’ve decided NOT to be a Grinch and it’s about time I try to embrace the Christmas spirit or just settle for finding it.
Right, so as I type it’s the 11th December and the shopping for presents is done, tick. The (real) tree is lit up, decorated and smelling lovely, tick. Oversized red stockings are on order and Amazon assures me they’re coming, tick. So far so good. However, the Christmas cheer isn’t spreading through me so much as I’m going through the motions… So last Sunday I went shopping in Manchester city centre. I wish I hadn’t, I thought the high street was dying, that no one shopped in stores anymore, that the consumer had moved online! Who were all these people?! Breathing became a challenge in one retailer such were the swarms, there was no stopping to enjoy beautiful lights; it was all elbows and rush, rush, rush. My friends and I managed a couple of hours before giving up and going home.
Which leads me nicely to this recipe: more tinkering per se rather than cooking. Please feel free to use shop bought puff or even shortcrust pastry if you’re not inclined to bring out the heavy machinery. Making mince pies is as close as I get to the spirit of the holidays and that is quite alright.

Tiramisu | Book of Elsa

Five ingredients make a light as air coffee dessert by the name of Tiramisu. Beware though: it has to be made the day before you need it but I find that useful. Also it helps the texture of the finished dish if all the ingredients are at room temprature before you begin.