This lemon cake was supposed to have been dotted with small, sweet currants. Unfortunately I forgot to put them in. I only realised once the oven door had closed and I turned around and spotted the pack sitting on top of the kitchen bench. When I explained this to my children, my almost seven year old daughter Sofia said,”That’s ok mum, I’m not really a fan of currants anyway.” Hmm…there is always one!

This moist, refreshingly lemon flavoured cake recipe is from The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Country Classics cookbook. As expected, the recipes in an Australian Women’s Weekly publication are reliable, appealing and manageable for the home cook. I look forward to cooking and tasting my way through this one.

I had already filled my loaf tins with banana bread, so I tipped this lemony batter into a well buttered Kugelhopf tin instead. This dense loaf-style cake sliced perfectly, with each piece keeping it’s shape and making an easy addition to school lunch boxes. I’ve included the recipe with the wayward currants, but substituted raw organic sugar which I used instead of the original caster sugar. 

Recipe for Lemon and Currant Loaf 

125 g unsalted butter
220 g raw sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
Beat together until pale and fluffy. 

Then add:
3 eggs and beat until just combined. 

Finally add:
150 g self raising flour
75 g plain flour
80 g sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
160 g dried currants
Whisk through until combined. 

Scrape into a buttered Kugelhopf tin or a loaf tin measuring 14cm x 21cm. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees on a conventional setting for 60 minutes. 

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack or onto a serving plate before slicing and serving. Especially lovely to eat whilst still warm with a bit of butter or clotted cream.