Lemon drizzle cake, lemon drizzle cake...

For my first baking post, what better cake to bake than the classic lemon drizzle cake? Using a recipe which I first found on the BBC website some time ago, very similar to this one from Fay Ripley and the Hairy Bikers, this is perhaps my favourite cake (and very easy to make.) I don't enjoy the scientific aspect to baking- the weighing of ingredients and precise oven settings- so a lemon drizzle cake is ideal because it involves very little science and a lot of artistic flavour.

 Grating the lemon is a messy job, but leaves the kitchen smelling of citrus...

I find that the cake works best when the butter has been taken out of the fridge around half an hour before baking. I also find that the drizzle can become quite heavy if it is prepared too long before the cake comes out of the oven (that's what happened to my cake today!) On a cold Autumn day, this cake gives a taste of the zestiness of summer! 

  'The lemon drizzle cake contains...no nuts'

Some tips which I think might come in handy:

• Don't overdo the greaseproof paper- if it flaps around in the fan then it can cut into the cake mixture  
• Use the whole lemon to leave a nice lemony drizzle

'Love Food, Love Lincolnshire'

I decided to embark on this blog, recording my food and drink experiences from a converted brewery building in Newark-on-Trent, in part because of my visit yesterday to the excellent Lincoln Sausage and Food Festival. The festival was a brilliant experience, not least because of the plentiful Lincolnshire sausages on offer! I tasted a Lincolnshire hot dog with onions from the Grasmere farm stand, from which I also bought some excellent Cumberland sausages and cured bacon...a real treat! 

I also met the brilliant Tom Wood, creator of the excellent Lincoln Gold real ale, which was well worth a try. Other purchases included some Lincolnshire Red, a red variety of the local Lincolnshire Poacher, created by Simon and Tim Jones, and a wonderful Southwell chutney from local producers A Little Luxury Ltd.The chutney features Southwell's finest bramley apples, mixed with spices to leave a spicy flavour.

A selection of local produce: cured unsmoked bacon from Grasmere farm, Southwell chutney from A Little Luxury Ltd. and Lincolnshire Red from the Jones brothers.

The slogan for the event was: 'Love Food, Love Lincolnshire'...indeed it is hard to think of any other county in the country, with the possible exception of my native Lancashire, that offers such brilliant variety of food and drink. The festival was a superb experience for any foodie, but the atmosphere around Lincoln's historic Cathedral and Castle was excellent. Congratulations to the organisers, Tastes of Lincolnshire Partnership, on a truly tasty event.