Crunchy Topped Lemon Loaf

Its been a while , I have been a slack little blogger , in between the winter blues & children's ills time has simply crept away on me. Good intentions turn into tomorrows never achieved !
Alas I have been baking tho ' As the saying goes when life gives you lemons - BAKE ! Hear hear .
A bag of home grown lemons make me soooo happy my mind is alive of things to do & bake , so as we here in NZ are right in the middle of winter , natures lil bag of sunshine has to be the citrus tree .
In fact I have just guzzled down a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice made from fruit from my papa's tree - honestly this stuff is better than coffee , energy , HELLO !
I really think Lemons go the best in cakes , muffins & slices because of that tangy contrast they bring to the sweet . This recipe was a first for me but looked so divine !
It comes from Alexa Johnston's magical book ' A second helping ' which I use so often & never lets me down .
If you are after a little bit of sunshine on a winters day whip this baby up & sit down with a cup of tea for some lemony goodness - its quite moreish , don't say I didn't tell you so !

Crunchy Topped Lemon Loaf

For the cake -

115g butter
3/4 caster sugar
2 tsp lemon zest ( finally grated )
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk

For the topping -

1/3 cup caster sugar
2 TBsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 180 c . Lightly grease a medium sized loaf tin

2. Cream soft butter and sugar until light & fluffy, beat in Lemon zest then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Use a metal spoon to gently fold in sifted dry ingredients a third at a time, alternating with the milk.

4. Pour the mixture into tin, smooth the top & bake for about 40 mins, rotating halfway through for a nice even bake. The cake will be a golden colour with a crack running along the top and should be just pulling away from the sides of the tin. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack still in tin.

5. For the topping, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small jug then slowly pour over the top of the still hot cake. It will soak in a little and run down the sides, leaving a thin crust of sugar on the top. Cool in tin the turn out carefully - slice and enjoy !