Gower Peninsula

Lemon and thyme loaf

I fell in love with this Hummingbird Bakery recipe (yes, it's yet another one of those) the moment I saw it. I have always liked lemons - my childhood party trick was downing a juice of one lemon without a twitch. And that's probably why I never liked lemon-flavoured food. Lemons should have a kick to them, they should be sour - you should feel them like nothing else when you have them and mixing them with food takes all that away. I expected lemon desserts and cakes to taste just like lemons do and they, obviously, don't and never will. Luckily as I grew, so did my taste-bud tolerance (pretty typical I guess) and I have expanded my lemon horizons. These days when I see the word 'lemon' or 'lime' in a baking recipe, I'm all in. And if you like experimenting there is nothing like mixing some lemon and lemon thyme in a cake. They are a match made in heaven. Thank you, Hummingbird!

Lemon and thyme loaf  

(based on Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days recipe)
Sponge:
190g soft unsalted butter
190g plain flour
Zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
3 tsp chopped lemon thyme leaves
190g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
1 tsp baking powder
25ml soured cream
1/4 tsp salt

Syrup:
80g caster sugar
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
4 tsp finely chopped lemon thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 170 C and grease the loaf tin.
Mix the butter, lemon zest, thyme leaves and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, each time making sure they mix well before you add the next one. If you have one of those magical freestanding electric mixers I would recommend using it. If not, be prepared to spend a long time mixing but it is well worth it.
In a seperate bowl mix together the flour (sift it!), baking powder and salt. Add them onto the butter and egg mixture in a few batches, each time mixing well before adding some more. Add the soured cream and mix again. Pour the batter into the loaf tin and bake for 40-50 minutes. The  loaf needs to be firm, so use a skewer to see whether any sticks to it when you insert it across the sponge. It should come out clean.

In the meantime make the syrup*. 

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan with about 60ml of water. Bring to boil and simmer until its reduced by about half and then pour the syrup over the cooked loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let the loaf cool completely before serving. Decorate with some thyme sprigs to make it look more interesting. Although it doesn't need it - it will be gone before you have time to appreciate it for its aesthetics. Enjoy!

*the original recipe calls for less sugar and less water. I however found that that didn't make enough syrup for my liking, so I suggest making a bit more if you like your loaves a bit more soggy.

Wales weekend

 

Summer cheesecake

I know it is not strawberry season any more, but I do think this recipe is worthy of a note because it does make an AMAZING cheesecake. It may at first seem that it is going to be a fat/sugar overdose cake but trust me - it all works great together. And it is so good you will quickly forget about all the sugar and cream involved and will ask for another piece. And then another and another.

Also, it is the first time I steam bathed food in the oven. It is fiddly and it is stressful (well, it was for me) but well worth it. I made a beast of a cheesecake and felt like a pro in the kitchen once everything was done.

Strawberries and cream cheesecake 

(original recipe can be found in Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book)

Base:
220g digestive biscuits
100g unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
200g fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped
(plus a bit more to decorate)
180g caster sugar
600g cream cheese
2 eggs
100g mascarpone
20g icing sugar
100ml double cream

Start with lining your cake tin with some baking paper. In a blender blend together digestives until they are just fine crumbs. Put them in a bowl and pour in the melted butter. Stir until the two ingredients are well mixed together. Put the mixture into the tin and press with the back of a spoon to form the base of the cake. Put in the fridge for half an hour to allow to set.

In the meantime put the strawberries in a saucepan with 80m of sugar and 30ml of water and bring it all to boil. Reduce the heat and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. I expected it to only take a few minutes but actually it took about 10. Watch out not to overcook the strawberries though - you don't want them to fall apart.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Beat together the cream cheese and the remaining sugar until smooth. Add yhe eggs one at a time and mix well. Now add the strawberries to the cheese mixture and stir them gently in.

Take the cake tin out of the fridge and wrap it tightly with cling film or tin foil on the outside - this is to make sure than no water leaks through into you cake whiles we give it a steam bath in the oven. We're steam-bathing it so that the cheesecake is moist and creamy. It also prevents it from cracking which cheesecakes like to do. Once wrapped, tip the cream cheese strawberry mix into the tin and place it on a baking tray (or a roasting tin) filled up with water. The water should be up to about 5mm away from the top of the cake tin.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top of the cake is firm but the middle is still wobbly. Allow the cake to set and cool in room temperature and once it's cooled put it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Beat the mascarpone with icing sugar and in a separate bowl mix whip the double cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently mix the two together, folding the cream into the mascarpone mixture. Tip the mascarpone mixture on top of the cheesecake and put it back in the fridge for a couple of hour before serving.

When serving garnish with the remaining strawberries. Enjoy and don't forget to share it with your friends - it will make them happy, I promise!

Summer baking

Recipes coming soon