Lovely Lemon Couscous Cake

I have had this recipe for a very long time. Years ago when my Mum and I first joined a slimming group, this recipe was given to us at one of the meetings and we made it weekly after that, as it was one sweet treat we could eat without guilt or shame! It's sweet enough to stand as a worthy substitute to a biscuit with your afternoon cuppa, and stodgy enough to serve as a post-dinner treat that's nice with a small ball of ice-cream maybe. I found the recipe, printed out and decorated with felt tip pen, inside some old school work that came with us when my family moved house last year, and before I lose it again, I'm going to put it up here so I can always refer back to it. I am also confident that once YOU try it, you'll be hooked too! As a plus, it's also very cheap to make and lasts about 5 days kept in an air tight container.

Lovely Low-Fat Lemon Couscous Cake

200g (7oz) plain couscous

6 fluid ounces boiling water

2 large eggs, beaten

2 fresh lemons

2 tbsp lemon curd

2 tbsp granulated sweetener

1 tsp vanilla essence

1) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Lightly grease a 1lb loaf tin. Set aside ready.
2) In a mixing bowl, pour the boiling water on the couscous and leave to soak in for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then add the beaten eggs, lemon curd, sweetener and vanilla essence. Stir well until all mixed.
3) Add the grated zest of both lemons, then squeeze the juice of each into the mixture (avoid letting pips in there!) Stir well again.
4) Add to the loaf tin and cook in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. The top of the loaf should be dry and firm to the touch, a knife should come out clean. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave it to cool.

Once it's cooled it will cut very easily into clean slices. The outside should be slightly crunchy and inside lovely and stodgy! We went to the gym after making this and leaving it to cool, and a slice of it with a cup of tea was the perfect refuel.
Have a go - even if you're not a big fan of couscous normally, this will hopefully sway you...

Have a lovely Sunday, everybody.

BB xx