Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf with a Lemon Glaze

This post is the perfect platform to declare my love for meyer lemons. If you've never tasted one of these gorgeously sweet citrus, I hope it will be on your to-do list for the week! Meyer lemons are ideal to bake with and give that perfectly intense citrus flavour to sweet treats. This lemon loaf can, of course, be made with run of the mill lemons but try making it with organic meyer lemons if you can - you won't be disappointed!

As for this delicious dessert it comes together in minutes and features a mix of poppy seeds and lemon - a classic combination that usually pleases any palette!

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Lemon Cake Pie

I want to tempt you just a little bit this morning with a tasty recipe from my Big Blue Binder. This is a big blue plastic covered binder that I have been carrying around with me since I was a little girl. (I was 9 or 10 when I started it.) It is old and tatty now, and bulging at the seams . . . but it is also filled with beautiful gems . . .



A beautiful collection of fantastic recipes that I have prised and garnered from family and friends through the years . . . and tried and loved so much that they have become my tried and true's and solid go to's . . . time tested and tested over time, they are my old faithfuls. So much so that I wrote a cookery book which contains some of the very best ones of all. You can read more about that here. But we are not talking about my cookery book today . . .



Today we are talking about Lemon Cake Pie. Or as it is affectionately known as over here . . . Lemon Delicious Pie. Different name . . . same thing.



You know that lemon pudding which, when baked, magically separates into a delicious cake on top and a lovely custard on the bottom . . . this is the same thing . . . except it is in a pie people.



A PIE! Yes . . . a pie. And we all know how much I love pie!!! There is no such thing as a bad pie . . . (Don't burst my bubble!)



This is gorgeous. I have been dragging this recipe around with me for yonks. It never fails to please anyone who I bake it for.



I wanted to take a picture of it whilst the light was good today and so the pie hadn't actually set up completely and was still a bit warm when I cut a piece to photograph . . . but I promise you a couple of hours in the fridge and it sets up perfectly.



Unfortunately it is sooooooooo delicious that the missionaries I baked it for ate it all up before I could get a picture of it set up. You'll just have to make do with these photos . . .
and trust me when I say . . . as delicious as it may look . . . it tastes even better. Seriously.

Try it today. You won't be sorry. I promise!



*Lemon Cake Pie*
Makes one 9 inch pie
Printable Recipe

One of our favourites. Lemon Cake and Pie together. How much better can life get?

7 ounces granulated sugar
1 TBS butter
3 TBS plain flour
1/8 tsp salt
the finely grated zest and juice of two unwaxed lemons
2 large free range eggs, separated
375ml of milk (1 1/2 cups)
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell
Whipped Cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Roll out your pastry, fit it into a 9 inch pie dish, trim and flute. Set aside.

Measure the sugar, flour, salt and lemon zest into a bowl. Rub in the butter until all are completely rubbed together and the mixture resembles sand. Beat in the two egg yolks and the lemon juice. Whisk in the milk. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold these carefully into the mixture. Pour this into the pie dish. Carefully move the pie dish to the heated oven.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until lightly browned, set with just a little jiggle in the centre and a knife inserted close to the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Cut into slices to serve and top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.



In The Cottage today a delicious Bacon, Egg and Cheese Toastie.

Lemon and Poppyseed Cupcakes

We had a Birthday Dinner here for a good friend of ours yesterday. I love Birthday's and celebrating them. It's always a good excuse to bake a cake, or even better . . . cupcakes!!







Who doesn't love cupcakes???? A tasty little cake, ALL for you! What could be any better than that??







Especially when they are Lemon and Poppyseed Cupcakes, all moist and lemony and topped with a delicious buttery lemon icing and some tasty candy lemon slices!!! Wowsa Wowsa!!!







These are fabulous. I adapted the recipe from one I found on the BBC GoodFood site. (That's a great site by the way. I love BBC GoodFood, the site . . . the magazine . . . and all of their cookbooks.)







If you are looking for a great cupcake, which is delicious . . . buttery, and with a bit of texture, then I highly recommend these! They were very scrummy indeed! They got High Fives all the way around the table!







*Lemon and Poppyseed Cupcakes*

Makes 12

Printable Recipe



There is something that is quintessentially delicious about combining lemon and poppyseeds! I'm not sure what it is. I only know it works. Toast the poppyseeds for even more flavour!



225g self raising flour (1 2/3 cups)

175g golden caster sugar (2/3 cup)

the zest of two unwaxed lemons

1 TBS poppyseeds, toasted

3 large free range eggs

100g natural yoghurt (about 1/2 cup)

175g butter, melted and cooled slightly (1/2 cup, plus 1 TBS)



For the Icing:

225g butter, softened (1 cup)

400g icing sugar, sifted (about 3 cups)

the juice of one lemon

few drops yellow food colouring

icing flowers, sprinkles or lemon slice candies to decorate







Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.



Whisk together the flour, sugar, lemon zest and poppyseeds. Beat the eggs into the yoghurt and them tip this mixture into the dry ingredients along with the melted butter. Mix together with a wooden spoon, until lump free. Fill the cake cases about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a skewer poked in the centre of one comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before icing.



To make the icing, beat the softened butter until really soft. Gradually beat in the icing sugar and lemon juice. Add just enough food colouring to give you a pale yellow colour. Spread on top of the cupcakes in a decorative manner. Top with some decorations. Store in an airtight container.







Seeing as it was a birthday, it also gave me the perfect excuse to use this wonderful Cupcake Stand that was sent to me by Jo at Find Me A Gift.com!!







It is completely collapsable and holds up to 23 cupcakes. (This image is of the 3 tier one, I could not find a good one of the 4 tier one to show you, but it is essentially the same, except with an extra tier.) What I did like about it, was that the cupcake holders were graduated so that it held the cupcakes snug into the holder. I also liked that it comes completely apart and stores flat, a big plus in my storage challenged household!!What I didn't like was that the top one was just flat and so the top cupcake fell off every time I moved it. I also found the whole thing, when full, a bit unwieldy, so I do recommend setting it up exactly where you want to place it. Moving it once filled is not a great idea.







It looked fabulous lit up with a variety of thin candles interspersed here and there when it came time to sing Happy Birthday, however I did not get a photo of that! Oh, and if you want to know what those other cupcakes are (in the blue wrappers) you'll just have to tune in tomorrow! (I know! I'm such a tease!)







Many thanks to Jo at Find Me a Gift.com for this handy piece of equipment. I know I will use it often!







Over in A Year From Oak Cottage this morning, some delicious Sour Cream Fruit Drops!

Ricotta and Lemon Cookies with Lemon Glaze

It seems that Christmas started even earlier than usual this year. The Christmas lights have been put up for weeks in downtown Montreal screaming for me to get into the kitchen and start baking. It took me a little while to get into the spirit, but I think I'm finally there. I had seen these little Giada de Laurentiis' cookies on Deborah's blog, and I immediately knew I wanted to try them. Ricotta and lemon are a true match made in heaven in my book, and ricotta is a great way to ensure that cookies and cakes stay moist and light. Light and moist they were. I am adding these to my holiday favorites.

Recipe (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Store in an air-tight container.