Dad's Lemon Meringue Birthday Pie!

Usually when making a birthday cake for my dad, it involves coffee, hazelnut and chocolate, but this year he wanted something different, something zesty for spring! He even suggested lemon meringue pie himself........ suited me that I didn't have to come up with the idea this time! :)

I used Rachel Allen's recipe for Seville Orange Meringue Pie, but replaced the orange curd with my own homemade Lemon Curd and it turned out wonderfully , if I do say so myself haha

Recipe:
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
300g plain flour, 150g butter, 1tbsp icing sugar, 1egg and a tiny dash o milk
Whizz the flour sugar and butter in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs. Beat the egg and the little bit of milk and add to the flour mix. Whizz briefly again until it just about comes together. Flatten the mix into a ball of dough and wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge to chill for 30mins.

Lemon Curd
150g caster sugar, 75g butter, juice and rind of 3 lemons, 2 eggs + 1egg yolk
Put the sugar butter juice and rind in a pot over a low heat, until the butter is melted. Beat the eggs and extra yolk together and pour into the sugary mixture in the pot. MAKE SURE ITS LOW HEAT OR YOU'LL HAVE LEMON SCRAMBLED EGGS :) :) Keep stirring until it thickens and when its done it'll coat the back of a teaspoon. Set aside and leave to cool slightly

Meringue Top
4egg whites and 225g Caster sugar
In a spotless bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the caster sugar bit by bit until stiff peaks form. When the meringue is whisked enough you should be able to turn the bowl upside down and it'll stay in it. I like to do this over my brothers head haha as you can see!!

Preparing the Pie
Grease a tart dish, and line with the pastry. Bake blind for 20 mins at 180C. Then turn down the oven to 150C. Pour the lemon curd onto of the par baked pastry, and spoon the meringue on top. Smooth the meringue, and with a knife use a dabbing technique to create peaks. Bake for a further hour at the lower temperature. Serve warm or room temperature and obviously with a bit of whipped cream :) YUMMO!

LemonBerry Delight

This is a new recipe I tried out from my big, mad, new baking book available at amazon!

I'm always a little sceptical when trying out new recipes as sometimes they can be a complete flop but this was a treat. The sponge is moist and the lemon flavour combined with the berries throughout the cake is gorgeous. I did change the recipe ever so slightly as usual, I can never jst simply follow them. The recipe is for lemon and blueberry drizzle cake, but I substituted in a summer fruits mix as well as the blueberries. I also used frozen fruit instead of fresh and it worked just as well :)

225g softened butter, 200g golden caster sugar, 4 eggs(beaten), 280g self raising flour sifted, finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon, 55g ground almonds, 100g frozen blueberries and 125g frozen mixed summer fruits
Gas mark 4 or 180 C, grease and line a 20cm square cake tin

Cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat together for a couple of mins until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time mixing well before each addition. Beat in the lemon rind. Fold in the flour and almonds and enough lemon juice to give a good dropping consistency(about half a lemon juiced). Fold in three quarters of the fruit and turn into the prepped tin. Smooth the surface and then sprinkle the remaining fruit on the top. Bake in a preheated oven for close to an hour keep an eye on it towards the end and if it is browning too much put foil on top for the remainder of the baking time.

To make the lemon drizzle for the top, put 100g icing sugar and 30ml lemon juice in a pot over a moderate heat and stir till melted together and syrupy. Don't let it boil! Prick the top of the cake with a fork, while still warm, and drizzle the syrup over.

Sooooo Good!

Lemon Easter Cupcakes

I know it's a little bit early to be making easter cakes but i saw the bag of mini eggs in the shop and couldn't resist! These are a lemon cupcake adapted from my lemon ricotta cupcakes but I replaced the ricotta with cream cheese for a change. They turned out really well, I iced them with lemon butter icing dyed with a bit of yellow food colouring (you can buy it here) and then popped on a mini egg for decoration! I could have been a bit more generous with the little eggs but everyone kept eating them! :)

Recipe:
1egg, 150g caster sugar, 120g butter*melted*, 150g cream cheese, 1lemon zested and juiced, 1tsp vanilla extract, 1.5tsp baking powder, 200g plain flour

*****if using self raising flour, still add half a tsp baking powder
******substitute one lemon for one orange, it makes a nice mixed citrus cupcake

Method:
Beat the eggs and sugar together for 3 mins on medium to high speed until light and creamy, mix in the melted butter , cream cheese, juice and zest of fruit and the vanilla. Beat well for another minute or two. Fold in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases in a tray, fill 3/4 of the way. Bake in a moderate oven at 180C for 20 to 25 mins

Ice with lemon butter icing
200g icing sugar, 100g room temp butter, 2tbsp lemon juice, the tiniest bit of yellow food colouring.
Beat well together

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I usually make this as a loaf, but decided to try it a different way for a change! The recipe for the loaf makes about 24 cupcakes, and they were still as moist and light as they would be if I made it as a full cake. The recipe for the carrot cake is here

Lemon Loaf with White Choc Drizzle

I LOVE LEMONS! :) This loaf is like a madeira loaf, the yoghurt in the recipe makes it nice and moist. Its a great cake to have with a cup of tea and it's not too rich that you feel like you're being bold!

Recipe:

340g plain flour, 2tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 240 ml plain natural yoghurt, 225g caster sugar, 3 eggs, finely grated zest of 2 lemons, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 120ml vegetable oil

Grease and line a loaf tin and Bake at 180C

Beat the eggs, sugar, yoghurt, vanilla and zest until well mixed. Slowly beat in sifted flour baking powder and salt. Fold in the oil until well incorporated. Pour into the prepped tin and bake for 45mins. Keep an eye on it depending on the oven and if its fan etc.

Melt 2 packs of white buttons and drizzle over the loaf when it's completely cooled.... Boil the kettle!

Lemon QueenCake :)

Considering it is the name of my blog I decided I'd better make some lemon queencakes :) They are delicious! These particular ones are made with ricotta cheese, they are light and fluffy, melt in your mouth cupcakes .... damn new yr resolutions gone out the window again! I cant resist lol

Recipe for a large batch of regular size cakes (yields about 30):

2eggs, 300g caster sugar, 240g butter*melted*, 300g ricotta, 2lemons zested and juiced, 2tsp vanilla extract, 3tsp baking powder, 400g plain flour

*****if using self raising flour, still add 1tsp baking powder
******substitute one lemon for one orange, it makes a nice mixed citrus cupcake

Method:
Beat the eggs and sugar together for 3 mins on medium to high speed until light and creamy, mix in the melted butter , ricotta, juice and zest of fruit and the vanilla. Beat well for another minute or two. Fold in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases in a tray, fill 3/4 of the way. Bake in a moderate oven at 180C for 20 to 25 mins

When cooled thoroughly, ice with a creamy lemon butter icing
400g icing sugar, 200g soft butter, 2tbsp milk, lemon juice to your taste (i love it almost bitter!) Beat together well!