Lemon and lavender loaf cake

Days have been cold here lately – which is something I absolutely love – but that makes it hard for the butter to soften in my freezing kitchen, making my morning baking sessions a bit of a challenge. Add to that that I only had a few spoonfuls of almond meal in the fridge and the idea of baking Nigel Slater’s divine lemon cake had to be postponed.

Nigel’s is currently my favorite lemon cake – with Alisa Huntsman’s simple yet delicious cake right behind it – and my plans were to make it again, swapping the thyme for something else, like caraway seeds or lavender – that was when I remembered seeing a lemon lavender cake in Paul Hollywood’s beautiful cookbook, and since his method involved melted butter it became ideal for my chilly morning. The addition of yogurt and the drizzle poured over the cake in the end make it moist and flavorsome.

If you have time to let your butter soften and have 100g of almond meal around, make Nigel’s cake; if not, Paul’s recipe is exactly what you need – and you can get creative and replace the lavender with whatever strikes your fancy.

Lemon and lavender loaf cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds

Cake:
250g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
125g granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons edible lavender
2 large eggs
200g full-fat yogurt*
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Drizzle:
juice of 2 lemons, strained
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 1kg loaf pan (around 10x20cm/4x8in base measurement), line it with baking parchment and butter the paper as well.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and lavender.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the yogurt, lemon zest, melted butter and vanilla. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and, using a spatula, stir until just combined – do not overmix.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and prick it deeply all over with a cocktail stick. Mix the ingredients for the drizzle together and gradually pour over the hot cake, waiting for portions to be absorbed before pouring more syrup. Cool completely in the pan before slicing.

* I used 170g yogurt + 30g whole milk

Serves 8