When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Cake.

It's double the zing this week with my Lemon Meringue Loaf Cake and Lemon, White Chocolate & Pistachio Mousse Cake PLUS top tips for nailing Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Hi Friends!

I’ve gone and done a typical Rubes of leaving the intro as the last thing I write for the newsletter and it’s currently 5.03pm and it’s due to go out at 5.30pm. Math’s has never been my strong point but even I know that 30 minus 3 equals 28 which basically translates to ‘Rubes you are fu*cked’. Excuse my French but I have no time for niceties knowing I am typing away on borrowed time.

I know I make the rules around here and I could very easily spend more time on writing a lovely little intro for you and push the time when this newsletter goes out. But honestly, I know me folks. I know me far too well. If I were to gift myself some extra time, I know for damn sure that I wouldn’t be using said gifted time to write the intro. I would use that time to plod around the kitchen, probably scroll on tiktok for ‘just a minute’, grab a snack, stare out the window, give Milo a belly rub, go hang the laundry and it’ll be 7pm and I still haven’t written that intro.

I don’t know what it is about working to a deadline but that thrill of pushing it to the line still runs deep. I blame it on the incessant all-nighters I pulled at uni – which by the by were not the product of a wild social life but instead was thanks to the hellish course which I WILLINGLY paid to do (and still unwillingly paying for right now).

I am now currently 19 minutes away.

Nope, make that 18.

In that time of writing a few sentences, I quickly grabbed a choccy. In the baking business we call that energy. Fuel. Motivation. A boost if you will.

In essence – I guess what I am truly trying to say is, don’t be Rubes. Don’t put yourself under unnecessary stress. I swear to myself every single time that I will get better with my time management and guess what, I never do. When we last went to New York, we very nearly didn’t make the flight. Today, I very nearly didn’t make my hair appt (was desperate times, James called me Gandalf the Grey earlier this week. If ANYONE has a remedy for slowing down grey hair please tell me because I am going to bankrupt myself with how often I have to frequent the salon to de-age). It is a common fact amongst my friends that I will be the one that is running undoubtedly late and we are now at the point where I am given a false meet up time in hope that one day I will eventually get there the same time as everyone else.

I don’t quite know what it is about this laid-back approach but honestly…I think it is genetics. LOL. I know that’s a poor excuse but there truly is a worldwide phenomenon (maybe dramatizing here for my own sake) known as Indian Timing or Indian Standard Time and I suffer from it horrendously.

If you don’t believe me, there are reddit threads, google searches, blog posts, the works, all dedicated to it. It’s absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I disregard people and time in general but is massively to do with me overestimating my abilities to do everything in a fraction of the time it would actually take me.

If apple maps say a journey will take 30 minutes – I promise you, I can make it there in 17 which gives me time to get ready, have a snack, grab milo and go. If a program says it lasts 45 minutes, I promise you, I can watch it in 29 minutes which gives me 16 minutes to nap. If a recipe says it will take 60 minutes, don’t worry, I can do it in 35 and make a sandwich for the 25.

None of this is ever true and I truly am the definitely of delulu.

Talking of, its 5.26 so I better wrap this up! I have no idea what the above is about but welcome to my internal monologue. If I have to put up with it, so do you.

Love ya bye x

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We are bringing a whole lotta zing to the menu this week with a double serving of sweet, buttery, cakey, lemony goodness.  I don’t want to hear slander when it comes to lemon. Is she basic? Yeah. Is it groundbreaking? No. Is it new? Absolutely not. But is it delicious in every single way? HELL YEAH.

Lemony love aside, I am sad to report there is no new ‘Around The World’ this week in the newsletter as life and work is effing me sideways and I can barely remember what day it is. James has confirmed to me that it is indeed a Wednesday and as it edges to 7pm whilst I am typing this, I am also curious to know if 9pm is too early a bedtime?

I’ve digressed massively (what’s new?) so on the menu this week we have:

• One of my favourite and classic recipes, my Lemon Meringue Loaf Cake. I bloody love a loaf cake – she’s cute and compact and because the slices are so small, you feel no shame for annihilating half of it solo. You can have a slither with a cup of tea and feel mildly sophisticated or you can do a Rubes and just eat the loaf like an apple because you are feral for all things cake (you can tell the tiredness is hitting because what on earth am I saying rn??)

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  This cake is so lemony, it veers more towards a zesty, sherbetty flavour but the sweet meringue top is the perfect partner to bring a bit of balance. The crumb is incredibly tender and moist and whilst I would 97% of the time advise eating a cake fresh, this sponge definitely benefits from a big fat chill in the fridge. The flavours intensify, the sponge gets moister and the yums are just outrageous. The perfect bake for this Sunday if you are after something with little fuss but all the jazz.

  

• The main bake of the week is my Lemon, White Chocolate and Pistachio Mousse Cake. I can’t even tell you the struggle I struggled with not putting cardamom in this bake. My hands immediately reached for those pods before I had to tell myself that aint no one paying me commission to use cardamom. So we left it out, I felt a bit sad but wow the end result is magnificent. The mousse sandwiched between the two lemon-soaked sponges is barely set. It is BARELY holding its sh*t together (me. I am the mousse) which gives it this velvety, melt in the mouth finish.

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  It GLIIIIIIIIDES off the fork and is a sumptuous, sexy little filling for a punchy sponge. All of that is smothered in a ridiculously smooth white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream and let me tell you, this cake is IMMEDIATELY being added to my future bakery’s menu (manifest with me people).

Are you ready for the yum? ARE YOU? Good cause I’m ready for bed.

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Is it a loaf cake or just a loaf? Whatever it is, one thing I know for damn certain is how delicious this number is. This recipe has been tested countless times, which include a whole lotta fails but just means it’s now nothing short of perfection.

My Lemon Meringue Loaf Cake is one heck of a beauty. It’s made up of a delightfully moist, not too sweet, sherbetty lemon sponge, drowning in a lemon curd drizzle and topped with a lightly torched vanilla bean swiss meringue. This cake is the less fussy, less complicated version of the main bake featuring a little later on but in my eyes, both recipes are belly pleasing winners. I don’t know what it is about loaf cakes that I absolutely adore.

Is it the sound of the first slice slapping the serving board? Is it the low key, low maintenance vibe? Is it the understated, I look like I am not a lot but just you wait till you try me nonchalance that gets me?

It could be all of the previous or just the fact it is another carb in a different sort of vehicle. The recipe below is super forgiving and welcomes a tonne of variations (check Rubes Recommends for that) – the recipe can be double for stacked sponges, used for muffins (pipe some curd into the middle when baked for an oozy surprise), sponge baked and crumbled for a deliciously zesty base for a trifle (I BLOODY LOVE A TRIFLE) or baked as is and served as a simple lemon drizzle, minus the meringue.

We are deep in the midst of lemon season here in the UK and I am all for that slap in the face hit of flavor that makes the back of your cheeks squeal in delight and sends a zingy shiver down your back. If you couldn’t tell, I bloody love lemons. The raw sort, preserved sort, pickled and baked. If it wasn’t bad for my teeth, I am sure I could eat one like an apple. Bring it to me in the form of a cake, drizzle, a curd, jelly or drink – lemon is a basic b*tch flavour that I will forever fan-girl over.

Recipe Makes: 1 x 2 lb Deep Loaf Tin

Recipe Serves: 6 if you are normal. 1 if you are Rubes.

Lemon Meringue Loaf Cake

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Y O U – W I L L – N E E D -

• Sponge

175g Caster Sugar

3 Large Lemons, zest only

160 g Unsalted Butter, room temp

1.5 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

3 Large Eggs, room temp

50 ml Olive Oil

50 g Crème Fraiche/Soured Cream, room temp

30 ml Lemon Juice, fresh

115 g Ground Almonds

130 g Plain/AP Flour, sifted

2.5 tsp Baking Powder, sifted

• Drizzle

60 g Icing Sugar, sifted

30 g Caster Sugar

2 Lemons, juice only

15 ml Water

35 g Lemon Curd, plus more to coat

• Swiss Meringue

125 ml Egg White

255 g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

M E T H O D -

1. Preheat oven to 150°C Fan/170°C/340°F/Gas Mark 3 and grease and line a 2 lb deep loaf tin.

2. Add the lemon zest to sugar and mix with your fingertips to release the oil from the zest. Add to a bowl.

3. Add the butter to the sugar and cream together for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well between each addition.

4. Don’t stress if it looks a little curdled, we will sort that out in the next few steps. Add the crème fraiche, oil and lemon juice to the bowl and mix.

5. Add the ground almonds, flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix on a medium speed until everything has just combined.

6. Scoop the batter into the lined tin and level out with the back of a spoon.

7. A nifty tip here is to pipe a thin line of butter in the middle to control where the sponge cracks for that nice flat top. Pop the tin into the oven for 60 minutes or until the sponge is baked through.

8. Leave the sponge to sit in the tin whilst you mix all the ingredients for the drizzle in a bowl.

9. After 10 mins, carefully pour ¼ of the drizzle on top of the sponge and brush over with a pastry brush. Leave to sit for 5 minutes before repeating with another ¼ of the drizzle. Allow the sponge to cool in the tin.

10. Once the sponge is completely cool, transfer to a cooling rack with a tray underneath. Use a pastry brush to brush over the remaining drizzle on top and on the sides. Finish by smothering one last layer of lemon curd all over before wrapping the sponge tightly in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (let those flavours work overtime whilst you are snoozing!).

11. Make the meringue by adding sugar and egg whites to a bowl. Mix on a low speed for a few minutes to combine and begin dissolving the sugar. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and cook the mixture to at least 67°C/152°F for a stiff meringue.

12. Make sure you continue to whisk this every so often to avoid the sugar crystallising on the sides or overcooking the bottom.

13. Add the bowl to stand mixer and whisk on a high speed till the bowl is cool to touch on the outside and the meringue is at stiff peak. Alternatively, you can use an electric hand whisk – it will just take a while longer.

14. Pipe the meringue on top of the cooled loaf, smush around with the back of a spoon and lightly brown with a blow torch. You could do this under a hot grill but I haven’t done this because I am not brave enough SO PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

And finally, the main bake of the week is my Lemon, White Chocolate & Pistachio Mousse Cake. That is correct my friends, another mousse cake is on the menu. After the deliciousness of my last one (Triple Threat Chocolate Cake), I wanted to make another but make it a little less filthy but just every bit as delicious. It is Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday in the UK, so this cake comes at the perfect time. My Mum isn’t a major fan of chocolate (idk how we are related, I will be honest) so this one hits that perfect balance.

Think of all the great things about a Lemon Drizzle Cake, teamed with the velvety lightness of a mousse, combined with the indulgent buttery yumminess from pistachios and smothered in a white chocolate buttercream. Think about it. JUST THINK ABOUT IT.

She’s wonderful. She’s a masterpiece. She’s magnificent. She’s lovely. And she is simply the best thing in town. Enough about my Mum, let’s talk about the cake (I know that was cheesy but just out here cementing my place as favourite child, even though I know for damn sure that my mum doesn’t subscribe to my newsletter because she doesn’t know how to).

Fluff aside, this is gonna be one of the best things you’ve had in a long time. And I know I say this every week but 7 days is a long time okay? Make this into a loaf cake, keep it as a stacked bonanza, transform it into a slab cake, turn them into cupcakes – whatever floats your boat. Omg make it into a cheesecake! No wait, use this mousse and team it with the chocolate cake from the Triple Threat!! NOOOO, swap out the lemons for oranges!!! Imagine the pistachio and orange combo? Wowowowow. How am I blowing my own mind right now with all the ways you can transform this one recipe? Love this revelatory moment for me. Thanks for joining me on the ride.

Basically, the possibilities are endless, the yum factor is outrageous and best of all, it’s super easy to make. Don’t be intimidated with how it looks, make sure you check out Rubes Recommends for tips on how to simplify and how to prep ahead to make the bake day a breeze.

We are using Swiss Meringue Buttercream here so we are taking the base from the previous cake but turning it into one of the velvetiest (is this a word??), smoothest, silkiest buttercreams in existence. I have real qualms with buttercream and wrote a whole post about it a while back because I am petty like that but essentially, I don’t trust anyone who advocates American Buttercream.

I get it - it’s easy, it’s simple. 2 or 3 ingredients, minimal fuss required, sturdy as heck. I get it. I promise you, as someone who started off using ABC when I first delved into baking, I BLOODY GET IT. But please, I beg you to love yourself more than this. As someone whose whole personality is based on cake, please know there are a tonne of better options available to you - you will all know by now that I am a staunch believer in a whipped cream of some kind but when I want something a little sturdier, something that can withhold just about everything whilst still tasting great, you gotta SMBC it up.

It's not as tricky as it sounds and my way is the only way to do it (duh) but it makes for an incredible base. She’s smooth, she’s indulgent, she’s reliable (no cake induced heartache here) and makes for the perfect smothering for today’s main bake.

Recipe Makes: 2 x 20 cm / 8 inch sponges

Recipe Serves: 12 good slices (no stingy slithers allowed)