A few weeks ago, the postie delivered a lovely surprise package from our friend and garden mentor Linda Woodrow.
We haven’t tried the delicious looking preserved lemons yet, but the lime syrup was absolutely superb, sweet and sticky and chockful of flavour. It made the best lime, soda and bitters we’ve ever tried, and the entire bottle disappeared within a few days.
Before it was completely gone, I used a little of of it in this cake…
The recipe is a variation on our basic food processor pound cake and comes together in just minutes…
- 250g (8oz) unsalted butter
- 250g (8oz) castor (superfine) sugar
- 175g (5½ oz) self-raising flour
- 75 (2½ oz) blanched almond meal
- 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
- 4 large (59g) free range eggs
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
- 100g icing sugar mixture (confectioners’ sugar)
- 1 – 2 tablespoons lime syrup (or lime or lemon juice)
1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature before starting. Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) with fan. Grease and line a 20cm (8″) round springform tin.
2. In the large bowl of the food processor, pulse together the butter, sugar and lemon rind until well combined and light in colour. Scrape down the bowl.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and continue pulsing to combine. Add a spoonful of the flour each time (if required) to stop the batter from curdling. Then add the remaining flour and almond meal, pulsing until just combined (do not overmix).
4. Scrape the batter into the lined tin and bake for about an hour (start checking at the 50 minute mark), until a cake tester inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out cleanly. Baking time will vary if a different shaped tin is used. Allow to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before releasing the springform and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Sift the icing sugar mixture into a bowl. With a small whisk, gradually add the syrup until the icing reaches a spreadable consistency. Spread over the cooled cake, and decorate the top with a few strips of lemon or lime zest.
Linda’s lime cordial recipe is here, and we’ll definitely be making it as soon as the fruits are in season again. I suspect this will turn out to be Fig Jam and Lime Cordial’s new lime cordial recipe!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Lemon. Lime. Syrup.
I am sold. In my next life I’ll be your neighbor. That is pretty much decided.
Sure. I’d love that! (Small Man thinks he might want to be a biochemist :))
That is AWESOME! I might be biased, but I cannot think of a better thing to do! Once our new lab page is up, I’ll send you the link, ok?
Yum. Just YUM!
I, too, would like to be your neighbour.
But I’m also very happy to be your blog-ville friend.
Thanks for brightening my day with your beautiful cake and cheery blog.
Heidi, you are always so lovely, hope you’re having a wonderful September! xx
What a lovely package to receive Celia. The lime syrup sounds so delicious and versatile. I’m still using the first jar of preserved lemons I made a couple of years ago as I keep forgetting to use it. I did use it in a runner bean dish last night though, which is really good. Your cake looks delicious.
Choc, thank you! The lime syrup was wickedly good – there was a scramble for it once the boys discovered it! Lots of preserved lemons here now, so I’ll have to look for recipes!
Hi Celia, another beautiful cake. You really are very good at them.
Thanks Glenda! These ones are so easy that it feels a bit like cheating!
What a delicious parcel, Celia, but also how interesting that you should post this recipe. Just earlier this evening I baked this cake http://iwashyoudry.com/2012/07/30/moist-blueberry-lime-loaf-cake/comment-page-1/#comment-3580 amending the recipe to suit. I accidentally burned the lime syrup, so it didn’t go over the cake, but the icing did. It tasted great. Am taking some in to the office and will see how it tastes today. I also thought the quantities of sugar were quite high, so scaled that down, especially the cup of ‘powdered’ sugar. I found 1/4 – 1/3 cup sufficient. I may blog my version when I bake it again, as I didn’t photograph my efforts tonight. Your version sounds delicious! I wlll try it. You might like to try this one too.
Thanks Lizzy, I’ll have a look..
I love it when unexpected goodies turn up in the mail box. I love preserved lemons and cook with the quite often with chicken and Sicilian olives. That cake looks delicious Celia and I’m sure some lime syrup with give it great depth of flavour xx
Thanks Charlie! It was such a treat to get the parcel! Hope you’re surviving the week, love.. xx
The lime syrup sounds magical, citrus cakes are my favourite. can’t wait to see what you do with the preserved lemons…..
Claire, Linda’s lime syrup is made with raw or brown sugar, which I’m sure makes a huge difference. I’ll have to try making some when I can get my hands on some limes!
So deliciously moist and tangy Celia! Its always nice to find a new favourite ingredient isn’t it? Now what are you going to make with the preserved lemons? Xox
Becca, I don’t know yet! Any suggestions, Chef? :)
How about tangy tagine, or some marvelous mayonnaise, or even some lovely Lemon crusted lamb chops? Decisions, decisions- yummo!
Oh yum yum yum Celia! I’m having so much fun with that pound cake recipe. I love how easy it is to mix it up.
Shall await your preserved lemon recipe! I’m still looking for some inspiration for my preserved limes.
Claire, I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipe! It’s amazingly versatile, isn’t it?
I love those simple start with butter-eggs-sugar-flour recipes – they taste like a cake should. If I made that cake, I could probably eat it all, on my own :)
ED, the pound cake is almost effortless, but I don’t make them too often, or we all just scoff them at a rapid clip! :)
I made cream cheese pound cakes last night! I wish I’d had a splash of that lovely lime syrup to add to my cakes. And I can’t wait to hear what you do with the preserved lemons. They are one of my favourite ingredients.
SK, cream cheese pound cakes sound amazing! x
Like the ground almonds in the mix – similar to our favourite lemon drizzle – must give your version a try.
Sally, I find ground almonds always results in a moister and tenderer cake, so I try and incorporate them whenever I can!
I sometimes get things from my next door neighbour but nobody ever sends me food in the post. I’m immensely jealous :)
Maureen, we’re immensely fortunate, and we know it! :)
Lucky you! How awesome to receive such a kind gift. I bet it just made your day!
An unexpected one too! It was such a treat! :)
I’ve got limes in my fridge waiting to be made into cordial :)
Tandy, that’s cool! I’m going hunting for some this weekend!
Yummy! I love cakes that have tartness to them. I’m a bit late but I have done my September IMK…..with a little difference :)
Sue, thank you! Sounds like you’re having fun in the UK!!
Don’t you just love homemade gifts? What a real treat. Your cake looks lovely by the way. Such a nice crumb. I’m excited to give your food processor cakes a try. I’m a fan of easy clean up!
Thanks Emilie! The FP cake recipe is really adaptable – we’ve done all sorts of things with it!
Most of my preserved lemons go in couscous. It’s the perfect really fast side dish when you need to knock up dinner in minutes, or extend dinner for extras. Just a quarter of preserved lemon peel finely diced and mixed with the couscous, then boiling water poured over and left to absorb. The preserved lemon just changes it entirely from boring to the star of the dish. Try it and let me know what you think!
I will! Thanks again, Linda! x
Lovely looking cake and delicious looking syrups. I should be more adventurous with my roasted veg – I tend to stick to the tried and tested peppers, aubergine, onions and tomatoes with the occasional squash/pumpkin thrown in. Your basket of vegetables looks delicious.
Thanks Caroline! The roasted beetroots was a great discovery!
I love a simple lemony cake this this one. I think you will enjoy using your preserved lemons…they go so well in many recipes.
Thanks Karen, I’m going to try Linda’s suggestion of including it in couscous!
I think that is a great idea. I use it when cooking tuscan white beans…then finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Mmmmm….there’s an idea for Saturday’s dessert.
Thanks Cosmo – hope you enjoy it..
As much as I love chocolate frosting, there’s just something about a citrus glaze that can’t be beat. Considering that you used homemade ingredients, I bet this cake was a real treat.
OK. So Mrs’ M’s house is not on the market. Do they have room for a boarder?
John, you’ve very sweet. If you lived next door, I’d be sending a big slab of this over.. ;-)