Guys, I’m so thrilled I’ve been nominated to my very first award, thanks to Carissa of at350degrees!

So here are the rules:

1. Give credit to the person who chose to nominate you.
2. Answer the “Super Sweet” questions.
3. Nominate a “Baker’s Dozen” (13) blogs.

Questions:

1. Cookies or Cake? Cake, but only on the day it’s baked…

2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla, definitely. Unknowingly it shifted from chocolate a couple years ago.

3. What is your favorite sweet treat? Oh, there are so many! Shortbreads, scones and cupcakes, if I may name 3 😉

4. When do you crave sweet things the most? In the afternoon, maybe that’s why teatime is my favourite time of the day.

5. If you had a nickname, what would it be? Some call me Rika or Kita, but I guess ‘ant’ is just as suitable 😀

Nominees:

Russell, Emma, Aleksandra, Lidia, Annie, Pam, Cara, Anna, Lucy, Valentina, Patricia, Lena and Juliana

Now the cake.

Because I wanted to celebrate this and have been craving an old fashioned lemon cake, I decided to use my long forgotten bundt pan, my brand new cake stand and one of my favourite recipes, courtesy of the great Mary Berry. This cake is soooo easy to make: put it all together in a bowl and whisk. Simple as that. And the result is soooo delicious! The batter is not too sweet, just the right amount to receive the tangy, sugary topping. The original recipe is for a sheet cake but it worked very well for my bundt tin – you just have to grease and flour it well. And I greased it and floured it like crazy, because the last time I used it (and it’s a non-stick pan!) half of my cake got stuck in it. So it’s not for nothing that it sat for a long time in my cupboard.

MARY BERRY’S LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:
225 g butter, softened
225 g caster sugar
275 g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
4 tbsp milk
2 lemons, grated zest only

For the crunchy topping:
175 g granulated sugar
2 lemons, juice only

METHOD
Cut a rectangle of non-stick baking parchment to fit the base and sides of a 30 x 23 x 4 cm roasting tin. Grease the tin and line with the paper, pushing it neatly into the corners of the tin. Preheat the oven to 180^oC/160^oC fan/gas 4.
Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes, until well blended.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula to remove all of the mixture. Level the top gently with the back of the spatula.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and is beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes then lift it out of the tin while still in its lining paper. Carefully remove the paper and put the tray bake onto a wire rack placed over a tray.
To make the crunchy topping, mix the lemon juice and granulated sugar in a small bowl to give a runny consistency. Spoon this mixture evenly over the tray bake whilst it is still just warm. Cut into squares when cold and store in an airtight tin.

NOTES:
I used a 24.8×8.57cm bundt tin and had not to change a thing! Errr… Apart from all the greasing and flouring. 🙂
I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat the batter.
My lemons were too juicy, or so it seems… My glaze didn’t get really white as I wished but it’s ok – flavourful anyway.