Today, or at least this morning, has been a time of very great stress here at Bustle & Sew HQ. The dogs have retreated to their favourite spots from where they can keep an eye on me without becoming involved in all the huffing, puffing and general drama. The smoothies have taken refuge on the sofa and the Newfies are channeling their laid-back vibes on the cool tiles.
Meanwhile, I have been stomping up and down muttering under my breath as I try and fail, try and fail again to connect my (rather elderly) printer to our new network. Wondering whose idea it was to change broadband provider (oh yes, it was mine) as I print off what seems to be the three millionth valid-for-two-minutes-only PIN to try to reconnect my printer. Finally I am back online, only for the printer to have a paper jam and start flashing its little amber light defiantly at me! I will definitely need a holiday after all of this!
After a morning doing battle with IT, what better way to calm my frazzled nerves I thought, than a little gentle baking? So after lunch I set off down the path to the Kitchen Garden to collect the eggs, then cut two courgettes (zucchini), so reducing the current glut at least a little, and a few sprigs of thyme to make one of my favourite cakes…
This recipe for Courgette, Thyme and Lemon Drizzle Cake seems at least a little bit healthy with the addition of the courgettes (you’re never too old for hidden vegetables!). It goes as follows…
Preheat your oven to 180C. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
Grate 200g of courgette. Give the grated courgette a firm squeeze over your sink to reduce excess water.
Put 180g soft unsalted butter and 160g caster sugar into a bowl and whisk together with the zest of one lemon until light, pale and fluffy. This may take a few minutes. Whisk in 3 eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.
Sift in 200g self-raising flour and a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Tip in the courgettes, 80g ground almonds, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, a pinch of salt and 5 tablespoons of milk. Gently fold everything together, but don’t overmix as this will make the cake dry and rubbery. Stop as soon as you stop seeing any dry parts in the mix.
Scrape the mix into your loaf tin and level it with the back of a spoon. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if it looks like burning on the top before the centre is cooked. Leave to cool in the tin.
While the cake is still warm, mix 2 tablespoons of caster sugar with the zest of one lemon and the juice of 2 lemons. Lightly pierce the top of the cake all over with a skewer and spoon the juice across the top of the cake. Serve once cooled.
This cake tasted even better when I finally sat down sitting down with a nice cup of tea putting all my IT woes behind me, and I hope that, if you decide to bake it, you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!
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