Lemon drizzle cake

Just a note: the cake I made got a little too dark. I’d say make it in a 23 or 24 cm tin rather than a 26-cm tin, which I used – or if your tin is bigger, check the baking time carefully after the first hour. It was still soooo lovely. Breakfast cake!!

What you need
400 g flour, sifted
400 g caster sugar, plus extra for glaze (see below)
4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
250 g butter, at room temperature
285 ml buttermilk, at room temperature
juice of 1/2 a large lemon
zest from 2 large lemons
2 large eggs, beaten
4 large egg yolks, beaten

For the icing glaze:
5 tbsp caster sugar + juice of 2 lemons

What to do
Line a 26 cm diameter springform tin with waxproof paper.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Sift the flour, caster sugar and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the butter and turn it to the texture of fine breadcrumbs through 5 minutes of beating with an electric beater.
Beating all the while, slowly add the buttermilk, the juice of half a lemon, the lemon zest and the eggs. Pour into the tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 1 1/4 hours or until a skewer comes out of it clean.
While the cake is still hot, make the glaze. Mix the 5 tbsp caster sugar with the lemon juice (you may not need all of it). Warm it through until the sugar is dissolved. Then prick the warm cake all over with a skewer and pour over the icing.
Let the cake cool down for 30-40 minutes and eat with creme fraiche, Greek yogurt or double cream (or just as it is).

(from: The Cranks Bible, Nadine Abensur, 2001)