Sweet and Lemony

Last Christmas, I treated myself to a copy of Life is Sweet, the latest
cookbook from the popular Hummingbird Bakery in London. My
husband got me the first Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook a few years ago and it's become one of my favourites, along with Mary Berry's
Baking Bible. 

Life is Sweet is a collection of baking recipes all originating from America. It's the sort of baked goods their bakeries have become famous for and they're introducing us to more of these American style baking with this new book. I was initially amused to find a recipe for 7-Up Pound
Cake and Chocolate Bundt Cake that uses mayonnaise instead of oil or
butter but I also found them strangely familiar somehow. Then I remembered having cake flavoured with Merinda, an orange carbonated drink, and also Sprite when I was a child. I also recall an auntie making chocolate cake with a dollop of mayonnaise. So I now realize that some of the cakes from my childhood were American-influenced and this shouldn't really be so surprising as the Philippines was once an American colony. I just haven't thought much about it before.

 I'd like to make these cakes one of these days just to give my girls
 a little taste from my childhood. I'm planning to substitute 7-Up with Fanta for that orangey flavour from a long time ago. I'll tell you more once I've made them. For now, though,  I'd like to share a recipe for Lemon Crumb Squares from the book. It's a little less exotic but it's definitely very tasty and you might like to give it a try too.

 *Lemon Crumb Squares*

Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Line a 9x13 inch tin

with non-stick baking parchment.

To make the base and topping, sift together 180g plain flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking power in a bowl and set aside.

Using an electric mixer or whisk, cream together 115g unsalted butter (softened) and 200g soft dark brown sugar for around 5 minutes on

 a medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add 90g rolled oats and

the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and mix until it resembles 

breadcrumbs.

Press half of this mixture into the base of the prepared tin and set

the rest aside in a bowl.

To make the filling, whisk together 370 ml sweet condensed milk,

140 ml fresh lemon juice and the zest of one lemon.

To assemble, spread the filling evenly onto the pressed base.

Sprinkle the rest of the reserved topping gently over the filling.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping begins to go brown.

Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes then in the fridge for

at least 1 hour. Cut into squares. 

This was so easy to make, I'm looking forward to making them

again with the girls. It's got a nice, crumbly base, a soft and gooey

middle that is both sweet and lemony, and a golden, crunchy topping.

 Actually we think it's like a traybake version of cheesecake

 but much thinner and with a condensed milk-lemon juice-zest filling 

instead of cream cheese. It's really good, especially with a hot drink.

I can see this becoming another family favourite.

Before I go I'd like to say thanks for all your comments and well
 wishes for last Monday. It went okey. The morning school run was
more chaotic than usual due to road works and closures around
the school but we made it on time and the girls came home in the afternoon very tired but happy. As back-to-school/nursery days go,
it was all right.

 Thanks again. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.