Lemon Butter Cake

Well, it was so warm yesterday morning that I put my clown suit  (those ugly thick padded overalls the men use when digging slowly on the side of the road) and my Carhart jacket into the washing machine.  Both were pretty pongy. Then of course the temperatures plummeted and I was caught inside until my outdoor clothing was dry. I popped them in the dryer, which is like sitting on a thorn, I hate to use the dryer when I usually dry everything on the racks in the loft above the fire. And went to work in the kitchen.

I made the cake with the lemon curd and it was very good.   I left it in the oven just a trifle too long which is typical but you get the picture. It is tangy without being too rich and at the time of writing is almost gone. I called it Lemon Butter Cake.

Whip

• 4oz butter
• 1 cup sugar ( my jar of sugar has a vanilla pod in with it and the scent when you open that jar is awesome. John gave me a Pound of vanilla pods for Christmas.)

Then blend

• 2 large eggs

Then fold, alternating

• 2 cups of flour mixed with 2 tsp baking powder

With

•  2/3 cup of lemon curd mixed with 1/4 cup of milk or cream and a dash of vanilla

A very standard cake recipe but it lets the lemon curd shine. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. After baking, while  the cake is HOT squeeze the juice of a lemon on top and sprinkle with sugar. 

After I took this shot  I changed my mind and chopping the mint very finely, added it TO the greek yoghurt. It was a perfect accent to the lemon in the cake.  So when I make a Lemon Curd Cheesecake later this week I shall incorporate a teensy bit of mint as well.  I will report back.  As you can see I would rather take pictures of sheep than cakes but I was TRAPPED inside!

Once my clothes were dry I escaped back out to the barn to commiserate with Hairy MacLairy. He has a very low tenor in his voice and is sounding quite mournful  and solitary from the back pen. Though he has Queenie ( the little midget Hereford heifer, well she is not technically a midget but next to the big tall Ayrshires she looks so ridiculously tiny)  anyway she is back there to talk to, but he is ignoring her and bleating across the barn.

And then I heard his wifey calling back and trying to peek at him through the cracks in her pen. You can just see Mama’s wonky ears, there in between those two boards, as she tries to get a glimpse of him through the bars. Oh how miserable.  Heart-rending. Bring on the violins. Poor darlings.

Dreadful.  I have to add that they both have access to the Outside  (separate outsides) but prefer to call plaintively across the barn to each other.  By tomorrow the weeping and gnashing of teeth will be all over and hopefully Mama will turn her tiny little mind to the very important task of gestating!  And by the way Mama, I need a couple more ewe lambs for Mia’s flock.  Then we will shop for a mail order bridegroom for them. So get busy with that dearie. Hairy MaClairy needs a buddy.

Work commenced on the big new pen in the center of the barn yesterday. We only use recycled  barn timbers for the refurbishment of our own old barn.  And everything has to be shored up right to the upper levels first.  For some reason this affects the speed of the work, reducing it to a crawl.  John’s mission is to try and help people keep their barns and put them to work again, so he is loathe to take an old building apart.  But the big beams have been found and John has a few weeks off work while it is cold, so fingers crossed.   Then Hairy will be able to come out of the Black Hole of Calcutta and loaf about somewhere nice.

The temperature right now is 30F, and the High will be another 3 degrees. So I guess we will not have an exciting day weather wise. But certainly an acceptable one temperature wise.  And I see that the sky is getting lighter. Too many clouds for a sunrise again. (sigh)

Good morning.

c

PS -this lemon curd was sweetened with honey and a little sugar. I prefer it tart.  Sometimes I just use honey. I have no intention of preserving it, just eating it as fast as I can.  So it lives in the fridge.

My Dad wrote in and said that he makes his lemon curd in the microwave.  Cooking and stirring in one minute steps.  The no fuss, no mess alternative.

Oh and Daisy discovered lemons when I used to throw the lemon peels into the field with the chook scraps. She would barrel over scattering hens in all directions to beat them to the lemons!  That cow!