The Thursday Murder Club + Lemon Drizzle Cake

Today’s recipe, a lemon drizzle cake made with almond flour, draws inspiration from Richard Osman’s murder mystery novel The Thursday Murder Club.

A Club You’ll Want to Join

A few months ago, after binge-watching the latest season of Only Murders in the Building twice, and then begrudgingly accepting that I would have to wait months for the next season, I realized that in the meantime I would have to get my murder mystery fix elsewhere. So I picked up one of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries. And I was instantly hooked. I’ve never been a big reader of genre fiction–I had some preconceived notion of it being, somehow, lesser than literary fiction. And man have I been missing out. I’ve spent the past few months making up for lost time, binging several Hercule Poirots, and also exploring other writers of the cozy mystery genre. Which is how I came across Richard Osman’s absolute gem of a novel and a series, The Thursday Murder Club.

The Thursday Murder Club revolves around four elderly members of a retirement community who form the titular club. They meet every Thursday to examine, discuss, and attempt to solve cold cases. But when a murder actually happens within their community they are determined to crack the case. This book is such a joy to read. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim are such loveable heroes, and the book is rounded out with a lovely supporting cast of quirky characters.

The Thursday Murder Club is absolutely heart-warming and humorous and entertaining. It will have you smiling, and laughing out loud, and possibly even tearing up. But it is also a genuinely well thought-out mystery with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. This book has pretty much everything–including lemon drizzle cake!

Joyce’s Lemon Drizzle Cake

One of the members of the club, Joyce, happens to be an avid baker. She has also recently discovered a taste for pastries made with almond flour. So, when Elizabeth asks Joyce to make some baked goods, for the purposes of tricking the police into sharing evidence with them, she jumps at the opportunity.

“Joyce has more bad news for him. “We have forgotten our manners, Detective Chief Inspector. We haven’t offered you any cake.” She produces a lemon drizzle, already cut into slices, and offers it across.”

The Thursday Murder Club

So, today’s recipe is for a Thursday Murder Club Lemon Drizzle Cake. I have adapted my recipe from Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Traybake, which you can find here. And, following Joyce’s lead, I made my recipe with almond flour.

“I have used almond flour because they are so good with it at Anything with a Pulse and I have been looking for an opportunity. I can tell that Ibrahim is tempted by the idea of being gluten-intolerant, and this will head him off at the pass.”

The Thursday Murder Club

I hope you enjoy the recipe and the book! As I immediately binged all three books in the series, I am now not only impatiently waiting for the next season of Only Murders in the Building, but for the release of the next Thursday Murder Club installment. Now to look for my next obsession…

A Few Notes on the Recipe

If you wish to make your cake with regular all-purpose flour rather than almond flour, I suggest following Mary Berry’s original recipe at the link above. If you are following my recipe, make sure you are using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal will cause a noticeable difference in texture.

You can use blanched or unblanched almond flour, but again, the unblanched will give it a different texture. It will also affect the color of the cake. In general I recommend using blanched, but I accidently purchased unblanched and used it here, and it doesn’t ruin the cake.

I used a 13×9 baking pan in my recipe, which created a thinner cake, more the size of a lemon bar than a cake. This is perfect for me as I do not have a huge sweet tooth and only eat little pieces at a time. If you want a thicker cake, use a smaller pan.

Almond Flour Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Rating: 4.0/5

( 3 voted )

Serves: 20 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes Nutrition facts: 265 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 3 cups almond flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 4 eggs
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• juice of 2 lemons

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 13x9 baking pan with butter.
2. In a large bowl, mix together butter, superfine sugar, almond flour, baking powder, milk, eggs, and lemon zest, until combined.
3. Spread mixture into greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. While the cake is cooling, make the topping by stirring together granulated sugar and lemon juice.
5. When the cake is almost cool but still slightly warm, evenly spoon the topping over it.
6. Let cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Traybake recipe.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How did it turn out? Tag me on Instagram at @thelitkitch