Baking in this house requires organisation because the 2 year old understands when I’ve something baking. He likes to sit in front of the oven and demand instant results. His naps are beginning to shorten too so if I want to bake I need to be able to lash a cake batter together rapidly and have it cooked and cooling by the time he wakes up.

This toddler (is a 2 year old still a toddler?) is going to be the death of me. Yesterday morning he learned how to climb out of the cot by himself. By last night he was climbing out everytime I put him to bed. In fact the last few occasions, he climbed out and pressed the “call” button on the monitor in his room so that I’d put him back to bed. Thankfully there is a big-boy bed arriving for him later today and I may sleep a little easier. His big brother or sister never got up to the same amount of mischief as he does. I need eyes in the back of my head!

If you’re interested in hearing some extra baking information you can click on my podcast below where I chat about baking with sour cream, the difference between egg sizes in the US & Europe, along with traditional Irish bakes.

I am brutal at remembering to take the butter out of the fridge to soften. There’s no point in telling me to get a pre-softened butter or margarine as I prefer to bake with the real deal. Today’s bake however uses more sour cream than butter so it’s easier to get ready in a hurry. The flavours of lemon and lime get on so well with sour cream and the result is a lovely loaf cake that slices easily once it has cooled.

Lemon And Lime Cake (serves 12)

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g sour cream (also known as crème fraîche)
• 250g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 500g plain flour, sieved
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 organic lemon (must be unwaxed)
• 2 organic limes (must be unwaxed)
• 100g icing sugar (for the glaze)

Method

Line a 2lb loaf tin well with greaseproof paper. Preheat your (fan) oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Beat together the butter and 175g (this means you must leave some for the glaze) of the crème fraîche until you get a loose mixture, stir in the caster sugar, then the eggs and beat again until it begins to dissolve. This mixture will be runny, don’t worry!

Sift in the flour and baking power and beat again until you have a thick batter. Using a fine grade grater, grate in the rind of half a lemon and one lime. Juice the grated lime and half a lemon into the batter. Stir well.

Pour the cake batter into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. After 45 minutes, insert a skewer into the middle to see if the cake is cooked. If it is clean then remove the cake and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack. If not, return the loaf tin to the oven for a further 10 minutes before testing again.

When the cake is completely cold, grate the second lime rind and the other half of the lemon rind onto a saucer and set it to one side. Make the glaze by beating together the remaining crème fraîche with the juice from the second lime and lemon half along with the icing sugar. While the cake is still in the loaf tin, pour the glaze on top then sprinkle with the grated lemon and lime rind.

Put the loaf tin into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours before lifting out the cake and slicing – this will stop it from crumbling to pieces when you cut it.

This cake will freeze extremely well, providing you don’t glaze it, the cake will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Ensure it is well wrapped in at least 2 layers of greaseproof paper and then cling film.

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