Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

Time for another old recipe originally from 2007, like many of our recipes this one was inspired by my nan's old 1940's 'Good Housekeeping Guide' although the recipe had to be adapted quite a lot to get the texture right.

Preparation time -  ~15 minutes
Cooking time - ~45 minutes (less for a fan assisted oven)
Makes / Serves - 8-10 average sized scones
Child friendly - 3/5
Difficulty rating - 1/5

Ingredients:

225 g gluten-free self-raising flour alternative
225 g caster sugar
225 g butter (or good quality spreadable)
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
lemon zest - from two lemons

Drizzle:

100 g caster sugar
lemon juice - from two lemons

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / Gas Mark 4 and prepare a loaf tin by lining with baking paper (not necessary if using a silicone loaf mould).
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar and xanthan gum, mix well.
3. Add the butter and eggs, mix until smooth either by hand or using an electric hand mixer.
4. Add the lemon zest and mix well by hand.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
6. Leave in the tin to cool slightly whilst preparing the drizzle.
7. In a bowl or small jug combine the lemon juice and caster sugar, mixing well.
8. Using a skewer or fork prick the cake all over and then pour the drizzle over the top.
9. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely, the lemon juice will soak in and once cooled the sugar should leave a nice crisp topping.
10. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and serve!

Tips:

1. Remember - the cake should still be warm when the drizzle is poured over!
2. If you fancy something a little different this recipe also works with oranges, just replace the 2 lemons with 2 average sized oranges and only use around half of the juice! When making an orange drizzle cake the flavour benefits from also adding 20 - 25 g of ground almonds in step 2.