In the Choate kitchen

Yesterday afternoon, we all seemed to end up in the kitchen cooking (one of our favorite things to do), so I thought I'd share what the kids mixed up. I should tell you that Sarah wouldn't let me near her while she baked, every bit of the cooking was her own.

Sarah: Lemon-Syrup Loaf Cake from "How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking" by Nigella Lawson

for the cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup plus 1 TBSP self-rising cake flour
1/2 cup plus 1 TBSP sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
4 TBSP milk
zest of 1 lemon
9x5-inch loaf pan, buttered and lined with wax paper

for the syrup:
juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 4 TBSP)
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and line your loaf pan well with parchment or wax paper. Make sure the lining comes an inch or so up the sides of the pan for easier unmolding later.

Cream together the butter and sugar, and add the eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well. Add the flour and salt, folding in gently but thoroughly, and then the milk. Spoon into the prepared loaf pan and put in the oven. While the cake is baking, get on with the syrup: put the lemon juice and sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently so that the sugar dissolves.

Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until golden, risen in the middle (though it will sink a little on cooling), and an inserted cake tester comes out clean. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, puncture the top of the loaf all over with the cake tester or suitable implement. Pour over the syrup, trying to let the middle absorb it as well as the sides, then leave it to soak up the rest. Don't try to take the cake out of the pan until it is competely cold, as it will be sodden with syrup and might crumble.

Serves 8-10

Got to jet off to piano lessons, so I'll post the recipes that Olivia and Benjamin mixed up later.