Lemon Crumb Loaf

When life gives you lemons make lemon cake. Doesn't it says like that?

Not that I don't like lemons - I actually enjoyed eating the tangy fruit flesh since being a kid ;-).
But life indeed seemed to have been a little mad 'round here. First we had to return from one of the most beautiful yet much to short summer holidays in Croatia to an incredible humidity. The bittersweet relief from it came in form of an incredible thunderstorm monday night. The extent just got visible over the past days - they say almost every fourth tree has been demolished, not even giving numbers of ruined rooftops, windows that have been smashed into pieces by flying roof tiles as well as cars buried under tree trunks. It's been crazy!! At least busses, trains and trums started working slowly again.



Nevertheless we have been gifted with beautiful sunny summer weather afterwards (like you can see in the photo above - beautiful sunshine, I didn't mined the rule of "use a diffusor while shooting" ;-)) and somehow summer weather always has me craving lemon-y fresh cake. I could go crazy for the classic lemon loaf cake with a thick sugary drizzle - theres just one little thing that makes it a bit more better (if that's even possible..) CRUMBS!

You know, for me crumbs/streusel makes everything better ;-) Sandwiched between the crumbly lemon cake and the smooth lemon drizzle the combination is to die for! The addition of italian Ricotta not only takes away the butter-y heaviness that you might end up with sometimes, it also boosts the lemony-light taste and adds a nice creamy texture to the drizzle! So, even when life doesn't gives you lemons, make this rustic beauty for the sake of summer feelings!! :)





Lemon Crumb Loaf
- makes enough for one regular sized loaf pan, about 12-15 individual servings
For the Crumb:
- 50g Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 200g Flour (I used Whole Wheat)
- 130g Butter

For the Cake:
- Zest and Juice of two Lemons
- 90g Butter
- 120g Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 120g Ricotta
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 270g Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda

For the Drizzle:
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 100g Ricotta
- 30g Caster Sugar

1. Make the Crumb by working together all the ingredients with your hands until a dough comes together. Leave in the refrigerator to rest.
2. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F. Grease and line a pan with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl make the cake: beat together the lemon zest, butter and sugar until airy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, ricotta and lemon juice - beat until just combined. Then briefly fold in the salt, flour and baking soda until all ingredients are well mixed.
3. Pour into the prepared pan. Take the crumb dough out of the refrigerator and distribute it into small crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
4. Take out and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool for a further 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the drizzle by beating together all ingredients until smooth, then poor over the cake when it's ready to be served. Because of the ricotta in the drizzle cake is best to be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Enjoy!