Lemon and coconut syrup cake

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well not today! A lemon and coconut syrup cake was on the menu today for a little afternoon treat. It originally started off just as a way to use up some of the abundance of lemons my parents had on their tree (thanks again!) but a normal lemon cake is something I make regularly so I decided to add some coconut for another flavour dimension and make this cake with greek yogurt making it delectably moist.

 

Lemon and coconut syrup cake

Prep time:20  Cooking time:40  minutes  Serves:8

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup lemon juice (for me this was 2 and a half lemons)
• Zest of a large lemon
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup of greek yoghurt
• 2 cups of self raising flour 
• Shredded coconut to top 

{For lemon syrup}

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• zest of 2 lemons
•  1/2 cup castor sugar
• 2 tbs of water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to and grease cake tin. Make sure it ISN'T springform as you will be pouring syrup over it while in the tin and don't want to lose any of the sweet flavour. I used a silicon heart mould from ikea.

2. In a large mixing bowl crack the eggs and beat together with the sugar until they are pale and creamy.

3. Zest and juice the lemons and stir into the egg mixture.

4. Pour in the yoghurt and coconut oil to the batter and stir to combine.

5. Sift over self raising flour and fold into mixture. 

6. Pour into tin and bake for 30-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. While the cake is baking make the syrup as directed in the following steps.



7. In a small saucepan combine ALL ingredients listed for lemon syrup. Stir over a low-medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and syrup has thickened. 

8. Immediatley after pulling the cake from the oven, stab at least 20 more holes into it so the syrup will sink in more easily and pour syrup onto the cake in an even layer.

9. Add the shredded coconut to the pan that held the syrup and this will absorb any left over juices. Then top the cake with the shredded coconut.

10. Stand cake for at least 15 minutes to absorb syrup (I left mine for around 25).

11. Remove  cake from tin and place onto a plate or serving platter and serve cold with extra greek yoghurt or warm with thickened cream. 

Garlic zucchini pasta

3 early morning starts in a row do not make for an inspired cook! I start off my week with high hopes and a huge grocery list and come the weekend (and a motivation 'slump') more often than not, my new recipe plans are thrown by the wayside in favour of tried and tested family favourites that I know I can rely on. This dish is one of those that makes a frequent appearance in our household as its regularly requested by Gabby who has a love for pasta and garlic like no other! The simple flavours of garlic and lemon make a delectable combination in this quick dish and prove that sometimes, easy is best.

Garlic zucchini pasta

Prep time: 5 mins Cooking time: 15 mins Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini (or equivalent) 
• 1 large chicken breast 3 cloves of garlic 
• Juice of 1/2- 1 lemon 
• 250g pasta of your choice (I used shells for this but fresh linguine is my favourite)
• Small knob of butter 
• Salt and cracked pepper to taste 
  

Method:

1. Set a pot of water on to boil in preparation for the pasta with a generous dash of salt
 
2. Crush or finally chop garlic and add it to a frying pan on medium heat along with a splash of good quality olive oil
 
3. As the garlic is softening, dice the chicken breast and then add to the pan along with salt and fresh cracked pepper to season
 
4. Chop the zucchini roughly into even pieces similar size to the chicken
 
5. Flip and stir the chicken as needed and once completely sealed and starting to brown, reduce the heat to medium and add the zucchini pieces and more olive oil if necessary

 
6. Once the water is boiling add the pasta to the salted water and cook until just al dente, then drain and add a small knob of butter. The heat from the pasta will melt the butter and helps to bind the garlic, oil and lemon into a lovely sauce when the meat and vegetables are added
 

7. Cook the zucchini and chicken mixture until the chicken is browned and the zucchini softened. The great thing about cooking them together is the zucchini releases water that helps to keep the chicken moist and not over cook

 
8. Remove the frying pan from heat and squeeze in the fresh juice of half a lemon to the pan and add any extra salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the pasta, stir to combine and serve