While the bees buzzed busily about their business gathering pollen from the foxgloves in the garden ~~~
I went about my own business in the kitchen ~~~ and after the heat of the last few days there was welcome respite with a much cooler day today so I didn't mind turning on the oven ~~~
I am sure you want to know all about the book, so here it is ~~~ oh! and I came across it by way of the blog of Rachel, owner of Sugar Moon Brownies who wrote two lovely blogs recently about her baking history and her incredible cook books ~ in one of these entries she mentioned this book ~ "Through The Kitchen Window" by Susan Hill ~ it is one of the most delightful books I have come across in recent times ~~~
It offers us a glimpse into the world of the kitchen through the year, and is full of evocative, seasonal tidbits and recipes and remedies, beautifully written by Susan Hill and sweetly illustrated by Angela Barrett ~~~ I think if you love Susan Branch you will enjoy this little gem too ~~~
As I turned the pages, each one full of its own special magic, my eye came to rest on something very near to my heart ~ a Lemon Cake! I make Lemon Cake in some shape or form quite often, a top favourite is my Crunchy Top Lemon Cake from my favourite cook, Mary Berry's "Baking Bible" so I was intrigued to see this recipe which differs substantially from the one I usually use. Here is the page with the recipe and a sweet illustration of a cake baking while the cook looks on in eager anticipation ~~~
I have never made a cake where the butter is melted, nor have I made one where the sugar is split. The recipe I use most often has a separate list for the topping, so I was duty bound to try this out!
I gathered my ingredients and equipment and greased and lined my cake pan ~~~ and I had to guess at a 'moderate oven' so I turned the gas on to Gas Mark 4 ~~~
I still work in Imperial, and have a very old fashioned balance scales that I've owned for over thirty years. The Hornsea Pottery "Saffron" pattern sugar jar belongs to my mother and we have several pieces ~ she has Saffron and I have Fleur {which you will see later} The glass lemon juicer is a reproduction of a vintage one and I like it so much better than the cheap plastic ones you can buy today.
So, I weight out my ingredients and followed the recipe carefully, making some notes to myself for later ~~~
I melted the butter and added it to the sugar in my glass mixing bowl and carefully blended the two together ~~~
allowing the mixture to cool slightly before adding the beaten egg {to avoid cooking the egg and making the mixture into scrambled egg} ~~~
Next, I added the flour, which I sifted in and added a scant teaspoon of baking powder to aid in the raising of the cake ~~~
and I folded it in. It looked very messy and lumpy and I got a tiny bit worried ~~~
but the lumps soon disappeared and I was left with a very unfamiliar sight when making cakes ~ a very loose batter almost like a thick pancake batter {so that gave me an idea} ~~~
Now, the best laid plans, as they say, of mice and men ~~~ and with just a few minutes of baking time left my lovely cousin arrived on the doorstep and I managed to let the oven door slip ~ it shut too quickly and my cake sank in the middle ~~~ but, never fear ~ as the photograph shows, it sank rather evenly so I planned to turn it into a flan filled with fresh fruit and whipped cream ~~~ except my cousin took a fancy to it and I sent her home with half the cake for her tea! The cake never received the crunchy topping!
Here is my half of the cake sitting on my Hornsea Pottery "Fleur" pattern plate ~~~
The texture is quite good, despite the mishap, and it tastes just fine with only two ounces of sugar, so it will not waste ~~~
So, as soon as my cousin left, clutching her freshly baked treat, I made another version. This time, having seen how the batter turned out, I omitted the lemon rind {see recipe} and instead of using two ounces of sugar in the batter and reserving two ounces for the crunchy topping I put three ounces into the cake batter instead. Then, when I poured it into the prepared cake pan, I sprinkled a generous handful of fresh raspberries over the top and popped it in the oven like that {for around 25 minutes} ~~~ and out it came like this ~~~ in case you were wondering, the texture of the batter made me think of Clafoutis, which is one of my favourite desserts ~~~
It has sunk a tad but I'm not too worried about that ~~~
To turn it out, I tipped it onto a plate and flipped it over, then I turned the plate over with the cooling rack underneath ~~~
and voila! ~~~ one turned out raspberry topped cake! ~~~ I have to say I'm quite chuffed over this little adaptation of mine ~~~
While it was still warm I cut a wedge and had it quite plain so I could judge it properly without the distraction of cream, custard, or ice cream ~ all of which would be very yummy with this invention ~~~
So, Gentle Reader, there you have my little experiment! Next time I think I might put the berries in the bottom of the pan and pour the batter over them instead ~~~ but I am so happy that I now have another way to use up the harvest of raspberries from the garden ~~~
~~~A Gardener's Work Is Never Done~~~
