I often joke with my friends that I live in the middle of Sticksville Suburbia - about a 20 minute drive from my home and you encounter paddocks of sleepy-eyed sheep and horses grazing side by side, and there’s an entire strip of road with small-scale farms all side by side selling things from fresh bok choi to bags of apples for eating and juicing. About every second Saturday, I take a trip to these green pastures to stock up on juicing apples and carrots, but also to check out any other produce that may be available, sometimes grabbing bargains on bags of Chinese greens, cabbages, potatoes and other assorted produce.
Last week’s trip, we stopped off at one farm to check out their carrots, when I happened to spot a giant wagon out the front with bags of limes, $1 per kg!
Can I get a WOOT WOOT?! Limes are ridiculously expensive at the supermarkets here, so though the limes in this bag were a bit pale and a little scarred, this was absolutely no deterrant as I grabbed a bag and held it lovingly to my chest without another moment’s hesitation! I held it to my nose and sniffed the limes, then cradled them as I cooed softly to them of all the yummy things I would use them for. At that moment I heard someone chuckle, and looked up to see the girl behind the counter looking at me with a huge grin, so I decided to stop fondling my newly acquired citrus till I got it to quarters that were a little more…ahem…private.
After a bit more shopping (i.e. the trunk of the car could not fit another bag!), we set off home, with me behind the wheel of the car and barely able to keep it straight with the excitement of knowing that I had an entire bag of limes with which I could do whatever I want! To be honest…I wasn’t sure what exactly I was going to do with ‘em, but I figured I could sort that out later.
Finally, after driving for what seemed like an eternity, we pulled up in front of the house and I bolted like a bat out of hell with the limes held safely in the circle of my arms. I was about to disappear into the house when…
“ELLIE!!”
I stopped mid-jump and turned around to spot my mother standing rather irritated by the car.
“Wha? What? What’s wrong?”
“Aren’t you forgetting something??”
“No…? See? I have my limes!”
As soon as I uttered this last line, I thought my mother’s eyes were about to pop out of her head.
“You idiot! How about the trunk full of shopping that I CAN’T BLOODY GET TO BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE CAR KEYS?!”
I grinned sheepishly and replied “Oh! No no no, I didn’t forget about those! I was…uh…just gonna open the front door so that we could bring them in easily….”
Ma rolled her eyes and I trudged back down the stairs, keys in hand, and unlocked the boot of the car. 10 minutes later, once all the groceries had been brought inside the house and packed away, I finally got to sit down and contemplate my fruits. So, I had an entire kilo of limes at my disposal…what to do?
I took the bag with me down to my room, and held it in my lap as I gazed upon my bookshelf and the many many cookbooks in my collection. My eyes wandering up and down, they finally settled on Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a domestic goddess”. Yes, this felt right. It had been awhile since I had declared my love of Nigella, so perhaps it was about time that we rekindled that fire. I took the book off the shelf, relishing it’s worn and stained covers, and flipped to the index to browse what she had listed…and I found these adorable little mini lime syrup cakes, with the most beguiling photo.
I smiled and set off to the kitchen, limes in one hand and book in the other, and set about mixing up this batch of little cakes. For the amount of effort that is required, the end result was fabulous, scented beautifully of lime and with a little tartness offset by the sweetness of the cakes. They’re probably a bit too homely looking for a dinner party, but I’d suggest that they would make the perfect snack to accompany a cup of tea in the afternoon.
Oh, and in case it wasn’t clear? Nigella, I still love you 
Mini Lime-Syrup Sponges
(from Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess“)
Ingredients
125g unsalted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten together
Zest of 1 lime
175g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
4 tbsp milk
Syrup
4 tbsp lime juice
Zest for 1 lime
100g icing sugar
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, and butter a mini loaf tin and lightly dust with flour and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar, then slowly add the eggs and lime zest, beating well after each addition.
3. Fold in the flour and salt, then the milk, then spoon into the loaf tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs stuck. Once baked, remove from the oven, set onto a cooling tray and prick all over with a toothpick/skewer.
4. Once the cakes have left the oven, prepare the syrup by putting the zest, lime juice and sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently till the sugar has completely dissolved. Boil for another 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat and strain out the lime zest.
5. Carefully place the lime zest on each of the cakes, then use a tablespoon to pour syrup evenly over each of the cakes to soak each one through. Leave to sit for about 5-10 minutes or till the syrup has been completely absorbed by the cakes, then remove and place onto a piece of baking paper inside an airtight container (but remember to save one to enjoy while still warm, hehehe!)
Technorati Tags: Nigella Lawson, baking, lime, citrus, cakes, dessert, sweets, recipes
Others who have tried this recipe:
- Belinda at What’s Cooking in a Southern Kitchen
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Comments
Lovely! Some people don’t like Nigella, but her book ‘How to be…” is my first baking inspiration. It’s still one of my fav for baking ideas! 
Oh, Ellie…you make me giggle with your infectious enthusiasm for your treasured bag of limes, and all of the pondered treats waiting to be created with them. 
I love limes as well, and I think your cakes tunred out beautifully…one of the little cuties with a cup of tea sounds perfect to me.
Hi Ellie, these look gorgeous! I love anything with lime and I especially love your little rectangular tins. They look so cute.
Beautiful little loaves, Ellie. Congratulations on the lime find. I love that you forgot to unlock the car in your excitement about the limes.
I rarely bake with lime even though I think the intense flavor is so good. As far as I am concerned you have to really saturate the goodies. Which seeing that you have a bag of em’ I don’t doubt those cakes got their due. Beautiful gems.
Those lil cakes are simply adorable! I love the idea of a lime flavored cake - you’re right they would be perfect with coffee or tea. Yum!
I’m so glad you found such a great bargain!
xoxo
Tanna - We spend a fair bit of time together, so I guess I’m lucky that nearly all of it is good
Kat - Feel free, I’ll have ‘em waiting for ya!
Anh - Exactly the same for me It was after I got the Domestic Goddess book that I started to really look into baking and trying new recipes, and it’s definitely one of my faves
Cheryl - Thanks, hon
Belinda - What can I say? I’m easily excitable As for the cakes…so so good with a cuppa green tea. Mmm 
I-Ling - Thanks, hon I’m in love with my mini loaf tin to, and mini anythings always look cute
Lynn - Thanks, sweetie As for the forgetting about unlocking the car door…I have nothing to say except that when I get excited about something, I tend to forget all else 
Callipygia - I’m much the same, though admittedly it’s been because the limes were always ridiculously expensive :/ As for the saturation, not to worry - these babies got a thorough soaking
Lisa - Thanks, hon It’s a double winning situation for me - not only do I support local produce by going to these farms, but occasionally I get bargains like this!
Truffle - Thanks, hon
Susan - Hehehe, I aim to please
Peabody - Damn straight, she’s a solid standby for me
Can I ask where you go to get farm produce? i am in the eastern burbs (mountains) and cannot find anywhere to get farm fresh produce., it is killing me! Please email me if you read this!
You and your mother have such great times! These look like just heavenly beutiful cakes. I’d so love to sit and have a cup of coffee with one.