This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
In this morning’s review, Zarina said Sue Watson’s Love, Lies and Lemon Cake was the perfect book if you’re in the mood for a good rom-com filled with tasty food and hunky men. While we can’t give you hunky men (alas, our powers do have some limitations), we can provide delicious food. The book’s author, Sue Watson, is here with us now to reveal her much-requested recipe for lemon cake. Enjoy!
Love, Lies and Lemon Cake is a bittersweet romantic comedy about Faye: a woman who’s disillusioned with her life, her marriage and her career. On a particularly dull day, she discovers an old rucksack at the top of her wardrobe and is reminded of her hopes and dreams as an eighteen year old. She discovers a list of all the things she’d planned to do with her life and is disheartened to realise she’s only managed to tick a couple of things off the list. She decides that the time has come to reclaim her life and her dreams before it’s too late.
Of course there’s a gorgeous man in the mix to help her achieve those dreams – delicious Dan from the Deli and to add to his credentials he makes the most amazing lemon cakes.
The story was driven by the title which I’d used as a chapter title in my first novel Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes and the title has been whirling around in my head ever since.
I’m delighted that Love, Lies and Lemon Cake has been in the Amazon Top 100 for the last four weeks and I’m still being inundated via email, Facebook and Twitter with people who have been inspired to write their own #lemoncakelivinglist – a bucket list of sorts. One of the many questions I’ve been asked about is Dan’s lemon cake recipe, so I’m delighted to share it with Novelicious readers.
I’m actually lying on a sunbed sunning myself on a Greek island right now after finalising my Christmas novel and am now starting on my fifth book so I suppose you could say I’m well on the way with some of the things on my #lemoncakelivinglist! I’m working my way through it steadily. Are you?
Dan’s Recipe for Love and Lemon Cake 
Makes about 20 cupcakes
Ingredients
175g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
175g caster sugar
125g soft margarine/butter
2 large free-range eggs
Grated rind of 2 large lemons
65ml fl oz milk
Method
- First, prepare your paper cases lovingly in a cupcake tin.
- Preheat Oven 180 degrees C.
- Place all the ingredients into a bowl – add a large spoonful of love – and whisk until fluffy – yeah it’s that simple.
- Spoon cake mixture into the prepared cases and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes (this varies depending on your oven – and the heat of your kitchen. My kitchen is always hot!)
- Take them out, lie on a rack to cool (not you – the cakes) and breathe in that deep, citrusy warmth and imagine you’re sitting in Sydney Harbour with a cold beer before starting on that frosting. Forget everything else and just chill girl.
Now this bit is up to you – if you want to dig out a little of that golden, lemony sponge and squeeze in some sweet-tart lemon curd, that’s fine with me … you go girl.
Bittersweet Love and Lemon Frosting
Ingredients
250g Icing Sugar (don’t forget to sieve)
80g Butter (many recipes say unsalted, but I think the salt adds to the flavour so stick with salted and take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before so it’s nice and soft)
3 tablespoons of grated lemon zest
If you like, you can add a couple of drops of lemon food colouring to give it that Aussie sunshine oomph.
25ml of whole milk
Method
Beat together the icing sugar, the butter and that lemon zest with a drop of food colouring. Then, once it’s all mixed add the milk, pouring slowly while still beating – and continue to whisk for at least five minutes, the longer you whisk, the lighter and fluffier your frosting will be (think about those foamy white waves on Bondi). I always mix frosting with a hand held whisk … where do you think I got my biceps?
When the cakes are cooled just top with a palette knife any way you choose – and add some zest on top if you like.
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