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Dhruv Baker's lemon drizzle cake

My role as a carer meant that I had plenty of time on my hands this weekend. So, very unusually for me I decided to make a cake, and as I was on a Dhruv Baker cook-athon I decided to cook Lemon drizzle cake from his excellent book Spice.

 The cake was delicious ... I made a one big error, one small one and I have one observation.

 My big error was forgetting to line the tin with greaseproof paper which made extracting the cake without any damage impossible!

 my small one was not making enough holes in the top to let the syrup in ... my wives tip was to use a fork rather than a skewer

 My observation, I didn't really get any coriander coming through.

 However the cake was bloody delicious, really light with a lovely lemon flavour.

Ingredients

 180g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
Zest of 3 lemons and juice of 2 lemons
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
120ml whole milk
100g granulated sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
1 tbsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed

 Method

 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

 Lightly grease a 900g loaf tin then line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.

 In a bowl, beat together the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until you have a light and airy mixture.

 Carefully fold in the grated zest of two lemons, the flour and baking powder. Gradually add the milk and mix until the cake mixture reaches dropping consistency.

 Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes away clean.

 Meanwhile make the syrup. Put the granulated sugar, lemon juice and coriander seeds in a small pan and place over a low heat. Simmer gently for 10 minutes or until you have a thin syrup and then strain.

 Remove the cake from the oven and pierce the top all over with a skewer. Pour the syrup over the cake and leave until the cake has completely cooled. Turn out onto a plate, remove the paper and sprinkle with a little extra sugar and the remaining lemon zest.
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