Little Nigel

Finally got round to seeing "Toast", the movie based on Nigel Slater's autobiography.
Lovely foodie film with some great lines: "I was 9 years old and I'd never had a vegetable that didn't come in a tin"..."No matter how bad things get it is impossible not to love someone who makes you toast" (I quite agree Nigel!)
Sweet, funny and some great cooking scenes.
In honour of the 1960s and the young Nigel Slater, here's a nice traditional lemon cake recipe that will make you feel like you've gone back to your Granny's house for tea again!  I made it for my husband's birthday and it was gone by the end of the day.

Soaked Lemon Cake (from Jane Asher's Beautiful Baking)

n.b I've changed the recipe slightly and substituted 3 tbsp of milk in the cake mix with the juice of a lemon as I like it super tangy but you can stick to the original if you want.

175g spreadable butter

175g sugar

3 eggs

grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

175 g self raising flour

pinch of salt

50g sugar

juice of 2 lemons

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line the sides of a loaf tin with parchment  to come a couple of centimetres above the top edge.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy  then gradually add the egg.  Add the zest and gently fold in the flour.  Stir in the lemon gradually so that it doesn't curdle the mixture.
3. Turn the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for about 35-45 minutes until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven but leave in tin.
4. Put the sugar and lemon juice  in a small pan and bring to the boil stirring while sugar dissolves.  Boil for about a minute.
5. Make several holes in the cake with a skewer  going right to the bottom of the cake.  Pour the hot syrup all over the cake. (It will seem like a lot and you'll worry but that the cake will turn into a big soggy mess but don't!  It will be moist and scrumptious!)  Leave to cool.
6. Holding the edges of the paper carefully lift the cake out of the tin and peel away parchment.

I iced mine with decadent lemon butter cream (100g soft butter, 200g icing sugar, juice of 1 lemon) and yet more zest.