Do you ever have that feeling, returning from travels or even just from a demanding day, that you simply must bake something that makes you feel good?
It’s a feeling I have often – which means that the emotion that follows, as I gently remove my creation of the day from the oven, is also one that I frequently get to enjoy. Many things inspire the baking itself. A craving, for instance. Or a memory. Sometimes, the creativity comes from cookbooks. A recent one I picked up is Love, Manuela. I lost myself for hours in the pretty pastels and luscious desserts that filled the pages of the book. Another favourite is Under The Walnut Tree by Fanny & Anna Bergenström, which features ingredients and recipes from around the world.
And sometimes, everything begins with a single ingredient.
When my friend Lucy visited recently, she brought me a beautiful batch of Meyer lemons, garden-grown and gorgeous. I know the tree from which she plucked them, from her home near a cove in Wareham, close to Boston. I love Lucy’s garden, unmanicured and filled with a wild charm. It was where her son’s wedding was held, with a Star Trek theme, and I vividly recall the funky geometric necklace I wore as per the dress code! Lucy came to visit in India bearing good tidings, kind comfort… and sweet, gently-raised lemons.
Meyer lemons are a citric fruit that are native to China, and believed to be a cross between true lemons and mandarins or another type of orange. They are sweeter than true lemons, which makes them especially perfect for desserts. They also smell quite special, because being cross-bred from oranges, they have a lovely uplifting scent. I couldn’t help but fawn over these beautiful fruits. And they worked their magic on my imagination. I named this cake of mine after Lucy, whose generosity always encourages and inspires me.
Lucy’s Lemon Poppy Cake
Cake:
1¾ cup flour
185 gms unsalted butter
⅔ cup sugar
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon lemon rind
2 eggs
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
¼ teaspoon salt
Lemon drizzle:
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind
I know that lemons are not easily available everywhere, that too the Meyer lemons that inspired me. Here in Chennai, for instance, limes are used interchangeably wherever recipes require it. You can make this cake with limes too, but just bear in mind that lemons tend to be sweeter, so adjust the sugar content to your taste so as to reduce the acidic taste of the limes. Or leave it just so, if you enjoy that tartness in your dessert.
You can make the lemon drizzle first and set it aside. Pour the water, sugar and lemon juice into a pan and stir constantly over medium heat, until it thickens or reduces to a third. Then, remove the pan from the stove and add the rind. Allow it to cool slightly.
For the cake, prepare a greased pan (I prefer a Bundt pan, which creates a pretty ring shape, a nice aesthetic touch for cakes that don’t require icing). Be generous with the butter and ensure the pan is very well-greased. Lucy’s Lemon Poppy Cake is also perfect for a mini-bundt style, which always has the delightful effect of making each person you serve feel like they have a cake to themselves!
Melt the butter and sugar in a pan with the lemon juice and lemon rind. As these ingredients warm on the stove, sift the flour with salt and baking powder. Incorporate the poppy seeds as you do. I love the crunchiness of poppy seeds – they are like tiny bursts of surprise in each bite, and I am fond of the blue poppy seed variety. If you don’t find them available where you are, or if you prefer not to have the crunch, you can omit this ingredient altogether.
Beat the eggs and mix them with the wet and dry ingredients. Gently whisk everything together and pour it into the prepared pan. At this point, I like to add about 2 tablespoons of the prepared lemon syrup to the mixture, as it makes the cake more moist.
Pre-heat the oven at 180° for 20-30 minutes. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Let the cake cool slightly, then upturn it onto a rack.
If you are not serving the dish immediately, lightly warm both cake and drizzle before serving. A tip: lightly prick the cake with a skewer or fork before pouring the syrup onto it. This will let it seep in and add more moistness and flavour. Remember to add the drizzle only when you are ready to serve. You may wish to serve it with whipped cream or a side of custard for extra indulgence.
Ah, that moment when a cake is ready – when its scent fills the kitchen and kneads all disquiet from the heart…
I like to top the entire concoction with sugar sprinkling after the lemon drizzle. While I’m usually the first to say, “pick the healthier option”, I’m also the first to say “some days require a little more sweetness”. And so a little sugar dust is a must. After all, the cake must look as fabulous as it tastes.
And I assure you, baker to baker, that the first bite will make you feel just as fabulous too.
