i did it norway! lemon loaf

Even though the holidays are technically over, I'm still in a major baking mood. I don't get to indulge myself very often so I really do grab my chances when I can. I'd been wanting to make this Norwegian lemon cake for a while, and I realized I had a precious lemon in my fridge I bought from the produce shop the other day. The rest of the ingredients are kitchen staples, so off I went!

It was a gorgeous tart concoction (with a little addition here and there from moi), the way a lemon cake should be, and it turned out even better than I had hoped. I was worried it might be dry, but not a bit. It wasn't moist enough for me as leftovers, though, so if you're having a party and a crowd, it will be gone right away and you won't have that problem. If you do end up having some left and hanging around looking shifty, just do what I did: I heated up a bit of honey, marg, and lemon juice in a bowl in the microwave, mixed it well, and drizzled it over a slice. And don't forget your cuppa.

I know loads has been written about how to stop cracks from forming on your cake tops, but I like mine that way. What does that say about me? Wait, don't answer that.

Norwegian Lemon Loaf (adapted from Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook)

You'll need:

2 c. (500 ml) sugar (I usually cut back on the sugar but didn't this time, and it was perfect with the lemon)
3 eggs (I halved my recipe, but you can't really use 1.5 eggs, so I used 2)
1 c. (250 ml) margarine, melted
1/2 c. (125 ml) potato flour (I used cornstarch as the book suggested for a substitute)
2 1/2 c. (625 ml) white flour
2 t. (10 ml) baking powder
1 c. (250 ml) milk
rind of 1 lemon, grated (even though I halved the recipe, I added all the rind of the lemon)
(And I also added about 3 T. lemon juice from a bottle in my fridge to make the cake tarter and moister and I'll definitely do that again next time, too.)

juice of the lemon and confectioner's sugar for a glaze

Do this:

Beat the sugar and eggs until thick. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for glaze ingredients) and mix until blended. Pour into two loaf pans that have been greased and floured only on the bottom, and put into a preheated 350/180 oven for 50-60 minutes (if you only bake one cake then watch the time--I did mine for 45 minutes and should've checked earlier). While still warm, glaze with the juice of the lemon and the confectioner's sugar that you've mixed together to make a thick paste.

I can imagine this with some fresh strawberries, though they're not in season at the moment. Darn. I'll just have to make this again in the summer.