Welcome to Mum&sons

My two eldest boys challenged me to start a cooking blog with simple recipes that we can cook together - and my youngest one has now joined in. I am hoping they pick up some cooking and photograph skills... or that at least they learn to design and run a blog.


LEMON AND CONDENSED MILK CAKE

And yet another lemon cake, this one with condensed milk, which gives it a really nice texture, and it means it lasts easily for two or three days.
You need:
- a small can of condensed milk (397g)
- five eggs
- 250 g flour
- two teaspoons of baking powder
- half a teaspoon of salt
- a teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 140 g sugar
- zest of two and a half lemons
- two tablespoons of lemon juice
- 275 g butter (room temperature)

Preheat the oven at 170 degrees.
Grease and flour the tin (we use a bundt cake one, but it will work no matter the shape).
Beat together the sugar with the butter with an electric whisk. Then add the eggs (one by one). Add the condensed milk, followed by the vanilla essence, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Separately mix the flour, baking powder and salt  (it helps if you sift it, but again, no big deal if you don't). Mix the flour mixture with the rest of the ingredients (folding it). Bake for 50 minutes to an hour.




LEMON BISCUITS

Still having too many lemons - so here goes another simple and really delicious recipe with them. It takes no time at all  - I made these for some guests who were coming for coffee just forty minutes before they arrived and I still had spare time.

Preheat the oven at 175 degrees.
You need:
-210 g plain flour
- 115 g butter (room temperature)
- one egg
- zest of a lemon
- juice of half a lemon
- half a teaspoon of baking powder
- half a teaspoon of salt 
- one egg
- a teaspoon of vanilla essence

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Separately mix the butter and sugar, beat well, then add the egg, and then add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla essence. Add the flour mixture, mixing it all well. Put spoonfuls of the mixture on an oven tray covered with baking paper. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

If you want to make these even nicer make a simple glaze with 100 g of powdered sugar and around five tablespoons of lemon juice, just mixing it all well (it helps if you sift the powdered sugar, but don't bother if you are in a rush). Just pour the glazing with a spoon over the biscuits when they are cold (I cannot stand glazing, which is after all pure sugar, so I put as little as possible and don't bother about making them pretty - in fact the more uneven they are the more home-made they look)