My friends and I are avid dog walkers. Well that's what we tell ourselves, but in fairness it's the pot of gold (that is coffee and cake) at the end of the walk that inspires us mainly. But life is all about yin and yang, give and take, input and output.
We walk for 4.4 miles and we share a piece of cake between 2, we walk 4.4 miles and we drink skinny coffee shop coffees, we walk 4.4 miles and our dogs are fit and healthy and will sit well mannered while we drink coffee. So you see we have it sussed.
Also we are all reaching that achey age and so I'm guessing daily walks aren't too bad for US either. We get to catch up with each other and put the world to rights every morning. You know what, I think it's definitely a win win situation. Even when it's pouring with rain I always feel so much happier after these walks.
This is very similar to the cake we sometimes share in a very well known coffee shop, who very kindly allow dogs to join us.
Cake
200g S/R flour
250g caster sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
zest of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice (reserve the rest for the icing)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
80ml sunflower oil
200ml buttermilk
Icing
Lemon juice
180g icing sugar
1 tbsp softened butter
You will also need a buttered and floured a 2lb loaf tin
Preheat the oven to 170˚c
In a stand mixer or a large bowl with a handwhisk, whisk together all of the cake ingredients. Pour into the prepared 2lb loaf tin. Bake for 45-55 mins on the middle shelf of the preheated oven, until well risen and a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Switch off the oven, open the door and leave to cool in the oven for 15-20 mins. Turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Whisk together the juice of half a lemon, butter and icing sugar until you have a thickish spreadable paste, cover the top and sides of the cake.
*. If the cake starts to colour to quickly cover with foil, but that said it should have quite a dark crisp crust, this gives you that fab contrast to the squidgy centre.
*Leaving the cake in the oven to cool will help to stop it from sinking, with so much moisture in a cake this is always going to be a possibility.