Author Archives: deansdiva

Making a spectacle of yourself!

Posted on by

Spring has well and truly sprung this week, enjoying the great outdoors is a little bit easier now lockdown restrictions are gradually being lifted…

Time to get out and about – and get out your sunnies!

Someone who knows a lot about being spectacular is Paul Cotter from London Eye in Newark.

This weekend’s guest on Girls Around Town, he’ll be on the phone in the second hour of the show chatting to June – who knows a fair bit about specs too, having worn them since the tender age of 13.

Visits to the optician were a lot different back then, of course – standing against a wall, covering each eye in turn and reading off the rows of different sized letters printed on a sheet – and Paul will be describing how much the process has evolved over the years.

He’ll be talking about the importance of regular eye tests, how people’s eyesight changes over time and the rising popularity of designer frames. In case you’re wondering by the way, June’s current pair are by Gucci – no surprise there then!

But it’s not only about making a spectacle yourself, especially when it comes to the sunglasses everyone’s donning now, and Paul will be describing why protecting your eyes from strong sunlight is so vital and how having the right lenses can do exactly that.

Make sure you’re tuned in to 107.8FM or listening online from 11.10am on Sunday to hear what he has to say…

And if you’re heading out for your daily walk after the show, don’t forget to put on those all-important sunnies when you do!

Enjoy an Easter teatime treat

Posted on by

If you were listening to this morning’s show, you’ll have heard Sue Jackson sharing another recipe, this one perfectly timed for a teatime treat on Easter Sunday…

As promised, here it is – her Lemon Drizzle Simnel Traybake, which takes an ‘ordinary’ lemon drizzle cake to a whole new level of lusciousness with the addition of a layer of marzipan.

Lemon Drizzle Simnel Traybake

  • Servings: Makes 16 slices
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 250g butter, softened
  •  250g caster sugar plus 50g for topping
  • 2 large lemons, zested and juiced
  • 3 large eggs
  • 200g plain flour
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 50ml milk
  • 100g mixed fruit
  • 75g marzipan
  • 50g icing sugar
  • Oil or butter to grease tin

Method

  1. Place the marzipan in the fridge to chill.
  2. Heat the oven to 180°/160° fan or gas mark 4.
  3. Oil and line a 20cm x 30cm baking tray – you can use a foil one.
  4. Cream together the butter and caster sugar with most of the lemon zest until light and fluffy.
  5. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  6. Carefully stir in the flour and baking powder using a metal spoon.
  7. Carefully stir in the ground almonds, dried fruit and the milk.
  8. Place half of the mixture in the cake tin and grate the marzipan over the mixture in an even layer.
  9. Add the rest of the cake mixture and level the top, trying not to disturb the marzipan layer.
  10. Bake for 35-40 mins until well risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  11. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes after it comes out of the oven and then turn out onto a cooling rack.
  12. Mix the icing sugar with enough of the lemon juice to make a runny icing.
  13. Mix the remainder of the lemon juice with the 50g of caster sugar and drizzle over the cake.
  14. Drizzle the white icing over the cake and sprinkle over the remaining lemon zest.
  15. Cut into 16 slices.

Taking lemon drizzle cake to another level

Posted on by

When it comes to tasty treats, a luscious lemon drizzle cake is pretty hard to beat – or is it?

Well no, not if you give it a special Easter twist by adding a layer of marvellous marzipan to turn it into a Lemon Drizzle Simnel Traybake…

Which is exactly what Sue Jackson has been doing in the kitchen of The Magnolia Tree Cookery School just lately!

If you love marzipan as much as June does, the good news is that Sue will be on the phone to the studio again next weekend and, after the two of them have had a quick catch-up, she’ll be sharing the recipe with everyone listening in.

Make sure you’re tuned to 107.8FM or listening online from just after 11.10am to find out what Sue The Cook has been up to since she was last on the show, what’s in the pipeline for the coming weeks and months – and of course for all the information you’ll need if you want to celebrate Easter Sunday in style.

But don’t worry if you haven’t got pen and paper nearby to jot down the details there and then…

You’ll find everything you need to know here and on the Girls Around Town Facebook page shortly after the show, giving you plenty of time to gather the ingredients – including that all-important marzipan – ready to make teatime extra special on Sunday 4 March!