First off, I don’t usually have anything to do with lamb as food. They’re too cute. I know, it’s ridiculous, all animals are beautiful and have a right to life. But y’know….deliciousness and all.

Anyhoo, it was Father’s Day last Sunday, and I was gifted a pack of lamb seasoning from Crete, so off I went.

Using Paul Flynn’s roasting method, for cuts about 1kg and the seasoning pack’s instructions, I was all set.

First up was to marinade the lamb in oil, lemon and the seasoning mix for 5 hours.

Roast the leg (mine was about 900g, roughly €10 in Lidl) at 185 C/ 365 F/ Gas 4 for 30 minutes. Drop the temperature to 175 C/ 345 F/ Gas 3 for a further 30 minutes.

Remove and let rest for 15 minutes. Tah dah! Perfectly pink and cooked throughout for those who prefer their meat done a little more on the end bits.

And for the lamb guilt…

Adapted from hurrrr

Serves 8

For the Cake

150g caster sugar
150g butter or margarine
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp instant coffee (add more if you like it strong)

For The Icing
225g icing sugar
100g butter or margarine
1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee
1 tbsp hot water

Preheat the oven at 160 C, 325 F, Gas Mark 3.

Line two equally sized sandwich tins with greaseproof paper. Grease the paper.

I greased silicon moulds because I have trust issues.

Add the sugar and the butter to a bowl and whisk until fluffy and a pale cream.

Whisk the eggs in a mug with a fork and then add them gradually to the mixture (about four or five pours) with 2 tbsp of flour each time.

Keep back a couple of tablespoons of flour.

Add the rest of the flour and the baking powder to the mixture and mix with the electric mixer.

It says from here on in the original method to gently fold in. Yeah…no.

Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and add to the mixture, electric whisking away.

Divide into the sandwich tins and cook for 30 minutes.

Test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean from the centre of the cake, it’s done.

It’s the spongiest cake I’ve made so thought it needed more time, but thirty minutes was perfect.

Leave for about 15 minutes before removing from their tins/ moulds.

Remove from the tins/ moulds, and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Clean your mixing bowl and whisk attachments.

When the cakes have cooled completely, cream the butter and the icing sugar until light and fluffy. Watch out for the asthma attack inducing plumes of dust from the icing sugar. It might seem like you’ll never get creamy icing out of this, but it does come together, hoorah!

Dissolve the coffee in boiling water, making sure you don’t add too much water or the icing will be runny. Add it to the butter and icing sugar and whisk to combine fully.

Once the cakes have completely cooled, place one cake onto the plate you’ll be serving from.

Spread the icing on the top of the cake layer you’ve put on the serving plate. You can spread the icing to the edge, unless you plan on squishing it right down. Even when cutting into it, it didn’t squeeze out like most fillings.

Leave around half of the icing for the top.

Pop your other cake on top, and spread the remaining icing all over the top layer.

Decorate with walnuts or chocolate shavings.

It’s worth noting this has been my most popular baking result in memory. It’s already been booked for upcoming get togethers. I fear for my safety if I don’t produce it. If I go missing you’ll know why….

This is my kind of baking. Minimum ingredients, fuss and clean up.

A friend had been at me to make these for a long time. Now I’ve found something this simple he can make it his bleedin self!

Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients-

70g plain flour

300g Nutella

1 large egg

50g chocolate chips

Add the flour, Nutella and egg to a medium sized mixing bowl. Using a regular spoon, mix it up until the flour has been mixed through thoroughly. It will all mix in, don’t worry. I used a teaspoon as well also to mash the flour in, delicate flower that I am. It only takes a couple of minutes.

Once all a lovely even chocolatey colour, add the chocolate chips. Mix up to distribute the chips as evenly as possible.

You can either grease a baking tray or some greaseproof paper (less washing up in my eyes using the paper) and put it on the tray.

Preheat your oven to 180 C/ 350F/ Gas 4

Using the spoon, take small amounts of the mix, roll in your hand and space out aiming to fit twelve cookies on a standard baking tray. Realising I don’t have a proper baking tray, I used the oven chip/ pizza tray yoke. You know the ones with the holes that doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to a regular tray? ANYWAY.

It’s better to make them on the small size, and more like fat balls (teehee) and gently flatten them just a bit using your index and middle fingers. Some chocolate chips might be left over so plonk them on top of the cookies.

Bake in the oven for ten minutes and voila, all done! Leave to cool on the tray/ paper on a wire rack.

I got these silicone oven mitts in Penneys for €2 each. Love them!

Wait about fifteen minutes before removing them from the tray as they might crumble.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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