Paper Palate

… with “Country kitchen” magazine. I was not looking for a new magazine; I was only browsing, honest! Then I spotted it. Unassuming cover, neat, the kind that sends you a subliminal message: “I am what it says on the cover.” OK, then, juuust a little peek. And that was it….

 Love at the first sight, everything a food magazine should be: crammed with recipes lots and lots of them, unpretentious, relying on flavours rather than good-looking chefs.  This magazine is real. Everything in season, moreover everything in the month, snippets of history are dotted here and there, events calendars too, with regular features such as “from my kitchen garden,” for which I am afraid I will need a garden magazine since I have not had much “growing luck,” but it is nice to think that you could mix baby salad leaves with herbs and Autumn raspberries.

So we have established that it is full of good qualities.  One, though, that might be a tad detrimental though, when reviewed on the WWW, is that it constantly encouraged people to buy local produce, but as the editor, Elaine Larkins, points out: “it is not always possible… take lemons, for example” and so the October issue does with 5 pages of lemon recipes.

Therefore and without further ado, let me leave you with the recipe for Lemon yoghurt cup cakes as seen in the October issue of “Country Kitchen” before my fickle nature takes me browsing again.

Lemon Yoghurt Cup Cakes 

Makes 12 cup cakes

100g (4oz) self-raising flour / 100g (4oz) caster sugar/ 2 tbsp cornflour/ 2egg yolks/ 1×150g(5oz) pot natural un-set yoghurt/ finely grated zest of 2 lemons/ 25g(1oz) butter

icing:  2 tbsp good lemon curd, little lemon rind cut into thin strips to garnish

Method:

Measure the flour, sugar and cornflour into a mixing bowl. Stir in the egg yolk, yoghurt, lemon rind and melted butter. Mix until smooth.

Spoon into paper cases in a bun tin to within about 1/2 cm (1/4 in) of the top of the case

Bake in pre-heated oven at 180C (160C for fan, 350F, gas 4) for about 18 minutes until golden brown, and well risen. Set aside to cool.

Spoon the lemon curd on the top of the cold cakes and level the top. Decorate with a cross of lemon rind if liked.

To cook in the Aga: bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven with the cold sheet on the second set of runners. for about 10-12 minutes until well risen and golden brow.

Lucy’s tip: it is best to use un-set yoghurt for this recipe, as the set yoghurt can be a little grainy when mixed.