Fancy A Slice Of Cake…….

Here at Dioni we like our cake. Cake is at all of our meetings. We think there is nothing better than arriving at a cottage and sitting down to a cuppa and a slice of cake!

At Dioni we try and persuade all our cottage owners to put a welcome hamper for all their guests. Tea, coffee a spot of milk, a bottle of wine and local cheeses perhaps. That sort of thing. Some of our cottage owners are kind enough to include home made cakes, scones and bread in this complimentary welcome hamper. I know, free cake! What more could you ask for!

I’ve managed to prise a couple of the recipes from them to share with you here. This wasn’t as easy believe you me, there are of course village cake making competitions to consider.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

From Louise, owner of Nant

• 125g unsalted butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 175g self raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp milk
• 450g loaf tin, buttered and lined

For the syrup:

• Juice of 1.5 lemons (about 4 tbsps)
• 100g icing sugar

Preheat oven and prepare tin. Cream together butter and sugar and add the eggs and lemon zest beating them in well. Add flour and salt folding gently but thoroughly, then add the milk. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes. Whilst it is in the oven, make the icing. Mix together the lemon juice and icing sugar in a pan over a gentle heat until sugar has dissolved. When the cake has risen, puncture the top all over with a cake tester and immediately pour over the lemon syrup icing. Leave the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin so that it absorbs all the icing.

Bara Brith

From Helen, owner of Llanfair Cottage

• 14 oz mixed fruit
• 8oz brown sugar
• 2oz marg
• ½ pt water
• 1 lb self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 2 freshly laid eggs

Boil marg, sugar, fruit and water in saucepan. Remove from heat, add bi-carb and mix until froth disappears. Leave to cool. Add self raising flour, spice and eggs and mix well. Bake in oven at 300F for about 1 hour approx.

Oat Bread

From Sue, owner of Llys-Bennar

• 2lb 10oz strong white flour
• 6 oz oatmeal
• 2 pkts. Easy blend yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
• 6 tablespoon of olive oil in 1 ½ pts of hot water – not boiling

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix through. Pour in water and oil and mix with a spoon until dough comes together. Top bowl with a polythene bag – tied to allow for expansion. When well risen, turn onto work surface and kneed lightly. Return to bowl to rise again. Cover as before. Grease and flour two 2lb bread tins. Preheat oven to 375 F and bake for 1 hr.