Global Gourmets

I have just received 2 boxes of lemons so I think the next few blogs will be sharing Lemon recipes and locations around the world where lemon's grow and what you can do with them.

Earlier this year I was on the Amalfi Coast and one could argue the home of Lemons. I learnt a bit about lemons in the 2 weeks I was there, let me share with you the insight into the tastie, sunshine infused, sour  delight that without it the world would be a different place.

Critus fruit, thought to have begun with citron ( Citrus medica), which is now grown exclusively in Corsia and Sicily.

The origin of Lemon is thought to be Kashmir, and by 200 BC was in southern China, moved to Persia and then the Arabs took the lemon to the Mediterranean in the 10 C AD.  the Crusades also helped the lemon to spread far an d wide.  Lemons's were growing in Britain by the sixteenth century.

OK  Recipe number 1:

The FAMOUS Mamma Agat's Lemon Cake:

This is the most amazing Lemon Cake from a cooking school in Italy that is part of my tour.

300g or 1-1/3 cups sugar

250 gr butter

4 eggs

Grated zest of 2 large lemons

a pinch of sea salt

20gr baking powder

125 ml or 1/2 cup whole milk

50gr or 1/4 cup hazelnuts finely chopped

Lemonade mixture

1-1/3 cup water

Juice of 3 lemons

8 Tablespoons sugar

300gr or 1 1/3 cups flour (00 or white pastry flour)

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C.

Whip butter in a mixing bowl on high-speed for at least two minutes(1)

Add sugar and continue to whip until soft cream forms,

Mix the baking powder into the flour and set aside.

add the following ingredients to the mixing bowl, one at a time, and blend after each:

1. eggs one at a time

salt

Grated lemon zest

Alternate adding and blending the following ingredients into the mixing bowl

Flour and baking powder mixture

Milk

In other words, add one quarter of the flour and blend; then, add one-quarter of the milk and blend.  Repeat this process until all of the four and milk are blended into the batter.

continue to mix the ingredients on medium speed until the texture of the batter has a light and airy consistency ( similar to a mousse)

NOTE: do not beat the batter for too long after adding the baking powder.

Coat the surface fo the fluted pan with butter  before dusting it with flour .  Shake off any excess flour before adding your cake batter to the pan.  NOTE> this step create a non-stick surface so that the cake will easily release from the pan and retain its shape.  Pour the batter into your greased and floured pan.

Bake the cake in the pre-heated oven for forty-five minutes at 160 degrees celsius

while the cake is baking in the oven, prepare the lemonade mixture as follows:

1. squeeze the lemons into a pitcher add sugar, mix until the sugar is fully dissolved in the lemon juice, add water

Once the lemon cake is finished baking, let it sit for two-hour, outside the oven to brin it to room temperature.

Before we start this process, we want to ensure that the cake does NOT stick to the pan, In getting it to room temperature the butter has solidified and that means there  is a risk that the cake will stick.

Pour the lemonade on the cake there is a special process to ensure this is as effective and consistent as possible.

1.  For 30 mins Slowly pour a little bit of the lemonade mixture