We are putting up a photo wall in our kitchen/ dining rooms where some of the photos will be of us and the boys but the majority will include my boyfriends wonderful macro photography and some of my food photos. So on Saturday we went to the shops to print the photos we had selected for the wall. After printing the photos we thought we would take a look at a nearby furniture shop to see what lounge suites they had as we had been looking for a new one for some time but hadn't found anything we liked. As soon as we walked into the shop we found the one we wanted. A buttery soft leather 3 seater sofa with chaise and matching ottoman.
We had absolutely no intention of buying a new lounge suite when we went looking, we merely went to look at what was available, but there we were in the store negotiating to buy. Isn't it always the way that when you aren't looking for something the perfect thing finds it way to you? The same thing happened when we purchased our home theater system and never did that saying hold more truth than when my wonderful boyfriend and I met. Some things were just meant to be.
When I saw this Candied Lemon Cake I knew was meant to make it. Donna Hay's recipes are always wonderfully quick and easy and this one is no exception. You don't even need to cream butter and sugar. So it's perfect to make for afternoon tea on those days that you feel like something freshly baked but with little effort. It also looks great too, topped with candied lemon slices.
The Candied Lemon Cake's deliciousness obviously taunted my boyfriend because he suggested I hurry up and take photos of the cake as he couldn't wait to dive into it. I was only too happy to oblige because, to be honest, I couldn't wait either. When we finally did dive into the cake it certainly didn't disappoint. It was deliciously lemony and moist and definitely a cake I will make again.
Now if you are wondering what to do with the remaining 6 egg yolks, stay tuned for Wednesday. Again, some things are just meant to be.
Have you gone out to purchase something and come home with something completely different that you didn't expect to find at all?
Rick Stein's Food Odyssey stage show is happening throughout Australia during March and April, and as part of the tour he is running a competition to look for Australia's ultimate dish. I'm entering my Candied Lemon Cake into the competition. While lemons aren't a national food, lemons immediately make me think of sunshine, summer and smiles with their wonderful colour and refreshingly zingy scent, and when most people think of Australia they think of sunshine, summer, sand and beaches. Also, this cake is remarkably quick and easy to make, which is perfectly suited to Australia's relaxed lifestyle.
Recipe
Ingredients
- cup plain flour sifted, 75g, all-purpose
- 1 cup ½ icing sugar sifted, 240g, confectioner's
- 1 cup almond meal 120g, ground almonds
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 6 egg whites
- 90 g butter melted
- 110 ml of vegetable oil
SLICES CANDIED LEMON
- 1 cup ½ caster sugar 330g, superfine
- ⅔ cups water 160ml
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF) and grease a 23cm cake tin and line it with baking paper. I used a spring form tin, but a regular cake tin will do.
- Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl and add the almond meal and lemon rind. /mix well to combine.
- Add the egg whites, butter and olive oil and mix well to combine. The batter will look incredibly moist, but don't worry, this is how it should be.
- Pour into the prepared cake tine and bake for 20–30 minutes (the time will vary depending on your oven but I suggest checking after 20 minutes) or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate.
- To make the candied lemon slices place the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the lemon slices and bring to the boil and cook for 12–15 minutes or until the syrup has thickened and the lemons are translucent.
- Scoop the lemon slices out of the syrup onto a plate and pour the syrup over the cake and top with the lemon. Allow to cool before serving.
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 says
Looks beautiful! What an impressive result for such a simple recipe. My recent post Fluffernutter Monkey Bread
delicieux says
Thanks Nicole. The cake was delicious. Definitely one to try! 🙂
Iron Chef Shellie says
I've been wanting to do a photo wall too. I'll probably wait till we have a place of our own so we can wreck the walls as we like 😛 Gorgeous looking cake! x My recent post Steak Slices with Lemon & Thyme Rapid Roastini
delicieux says
Thanks Shellie 😀 By the way, you can get those Command hooks by 3M so you can put up pictures without ruining the walls. That is what we are using. You should check them out 🙂
The Little Teochew says
That's a beautiful, elegant cake! My recent post Victoria Sponge Cake
CC11 says
It looks gorgeous - and also a great way to use up eggwhites!
delicieux says
I agree, it's definitely a great way to use up egg whites.
Stephanie says
That cake does look wonderful! It can be so hard to wait to eat until you get photos done. Ah, the trials of being a food blogger... My recent post Mushroom Burgers with Chipotle Mayo
delicieux says
While it's a trial you get to eat the delicious results, which isn't so bad is it? 😀
muppy says
This looks delicious, I adore lemon and the candied slices are something I've never tried. I am yet to cook a Donna hay recipe.... She has a tv show starting next week so I'm sure I will soon!
delicieux says
It was delicious muppy, definitely one I would recommend making. 🙂
Sonia@7spice says
Yaa...I agree with you. Sometimes we buy lots of things those we are not looking for actually. But, we're totally helpless. We are a mere humans and can't resist all beautiful things to drag in our home. This lemon cake is one of them. 😀 My recent post m3-5 Flickr
delicieux says
Thanks for your lovely words Sonia 😀
frog in cottage says
What a cake !!! incredibly moist and flavorful !! love it
Wendi says
Wow, what a cake. Do you really not have to beat the egg whites? You just mix them into the other ingredients? If that's the case, I may have fallen in love with this cake.
delicieux says
Hi Wendi, you don't have to beat the egg whites, just mix them in. It's wonderfully easy. 😀
@foodieandchef says
That looks gorgeous - what a beautiful cake you made ! Citrus has always been my weakness... My recent post summer’s end- aubergine- courgette and spinach terrines
delicieux says
Citrus is my weakness too. 😀
sonia says
Beautiful lemon cake, loved the topping and pictures !
delicieux says
Thank you so much Sonia. 🙂
Reg@TatteredCookbook says
Wow! This looks absolutely yummy. And one can never go wrong with candied lemon. 🙂 Congrats on the beautiful photos. Cheers! My recent post Heart of the Artichoke w Lemon Curd Tart & Candied Kumquats
delicieux says
Thank you Reg 🙂
Juliana says
Beautiful cake, love the candied lemons...not only look so pretty...tasty as well 🙂 Great photos!
delicieux says
Thank you Juliana 🙂
Nadia says
Your photos are truly beautiful! I believe they will stay perfectly on the wall, which is also a great idea 🙂
Joyti says
Ooo, that looks delicious. I love the way the lemons dripping on the top of cake look...
delicieux says
Thanks Joyti 😀
pearlsandprose says
Looks amazing! You're going to need an awfully big wall for all these beautiful food shots. 🙂 My recent post A little pick-me-up
beth says
what's not to like about this? saving to my online cookbook (http://cookmarked.com)!
Sarah says
Hello, This looks very tempting. I was wondering whether I could use a different kind of oil? A flavorless vegetable oil maybe. Thanks, Sarah
delicieux says
Hi Sarah 😀 You certainly could use a flavourless vegetable oil. What ever oil you like really 😀