My citrus phase

Other than a batch of (rather fabulous) wholemeal bread, it's all been about citrus for the last few days. It started with a lemon cake, adapted from a cup cake recipe to become a grown up layer cake. This didn't actually work out all that well - the cake tasted fine but the layers were thin, despite using a small tin size. Next time I'll try it as a single layer top-iced cake. The flavour was great though, and a really moist texture. Sandwiched with lemon and cream cheese icing it was a gooey delight and a good change from my usual lemon drizzle, which was rather the point.

I have a few Australian cookbooks and the lemon cake sent me back to them. Many of the recipes substitute some or all of the flour with almond meal which tends to lead to a very moist sponge, and the use of fruit is fantastic. I keep meaning to make a hummingbird cake but whenever I think I have gathered the right fruits together I inevitably turn out to be missing some crucial element.

I'd been having an urge to bake something with coconut for a few weeks. I am sure other people must have far more interesting urges than me since mine all seem to relate to baking, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Or something.

Anyway, coconut was on my mind. I had some limes in so googled for combo ideas but was surprised by how little was out there. Various lime cake recipes came up but most had pretty critical reviews, or something about the recipe just didn't look right to me. A fair few cheesecakes, but nothing inspiring.

Returning to one of my Aussie books I found a lime and coconut friand recipe. Friands are a big favourite of the Cake Eater in Chief but since they use a lot of egg whites I have tended not to make them as often as asked. Now that we have a dog who has spent a big part of her life living rough and as a result burns off more calories through nervous energy than she can consume in conventional dog food, I have a ready receptacle for any spare protein lying around the house. Though since she is quite happy to steal what she feels she needs (half a pound of butter and two packs of biscuits last week alone, must get child locks) this still doesn't feel like a good enough reason to go friand crazy.

Either way, lime and cocnut friands it was, and they were absolutely fantastic. Beautifully light, delicately scented and with toasted coconut on the top. The whole batch went within 24 hours (the other reason I don't make them too often is that I am told they do not keep and must be scarfed instantly, although how their staying power can be judged when they are never around for more than a few hours is beyond me). I made another batch the next night which were served warm from the oven with cream. A definite hit.

The coconut urge is still with me, as is a supply of citrus fruit, so tonight I have ventured into boiled orange cake territory. Again the recipe is quite meal-heavy and follows the classic boil-a-whole-orange-or-two-then-pulp method. This was a stunningly easy cake to make - bash all the other ingredients together with a wooden spoon then add the now-room temperature orange pulp and bake. The result is a cake even I could happily eat. The sharpness of the orange means the cake is barely sweet and it is not only gorgeous to look at, with it's brown top and yellow / orange speckled middle, but is also beautiful to eat.

So where does the coconut come into it? Well the original recipe calls for a macaroon topping to be added with ten minutes cooking time remaining. Although it was this mixture of ingredients which first drew me in, as the time to separate the eggs drew nearer I started to have doubts.

There is a phenomenon I have noticed in Marks and Spencer a few times. Glancing around the store something will catch my eye, for instance, on a recent occasion, a pale blue shirt. Walking closer I realise it's pin striped. Nice. Closer again and there appears to be a huge ruffle either side of the buttons. Plus a pocket. And something weird with the cuffs. I barely dare to look at the back, by now quite certain there there will be a ribbon tie. What is going on here? Why does nobody in the design or manufacture team ever scream 'enough'? Why should a single item of clothing be subjected to every single flounce and fancy that the designer can think of?

This was going through my mind as I considered adding macaroon to the top of my orange cake. I felt so sorry for that blouse - the temptation to rescue it from it's hanger and remove the ruffles was enormous - and could not bring myself to flounce the cake. So it is gloriously topping-free and having tasted it I feel vindicated. The sharpness of the orange and simplicity of the appearance make it a grown-up cake, a serious cake for serious times. It will be the perfect cake to go with the Sunday papers and, for those who do, a pot of fresh coffee.

And of course it leaves my coconuty urge un fulfilled, the perfect excuse to bake again. Tomorrow I suspect I'll be trying coconut, apricot and fig cake. But tonight belongs to the orange.