The use of herbs in savoury dishes is as natural as drinking a glass of water, but add herbs to a sweet dish, and you get an unexpected burst of unparralleled, delicate flavour. Use rosemary sparingly and it adds an earthy depth to cake, paired perfectly with refreshingly tart lemon.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 10 slices
Ingredients
1 tsp of lemon zest
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp mixed spice
150g butter
150g sugar
150g flour
1 egg
1 dried rosemary sprig
Method
Coat the loaf tin with sunflower oil and scatter the few rosemary leaves around it.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Add the poppy seeds and spices and then combine.
Using a sharp knife scrape a thumb sized amount of the lemon into the cake mix.
Sift the flour into the bowl and gently fold into the mixture along with the egg. Combine until a cake batter forms.
Transfer to the cake tin, pouring the mix on top of the rosemary. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes gas mark 5/ 170 degrees.
Once baked leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.
Turn the cake over, pop it out of the cake tin, and it's ready to serve.
Enjoy a slice with of cup of herbal tea, if you can stick to just the one slice.
Store in an airtight container in a cool area, store cupboard or bread tin.
Because of the low sugar and fat quantities in the cake, it works well as a luxury breakfast treat, or at least that's my excuse for having cake at 8am.
Categories
#Dessert
#Lemons
#Poppy seeds
#Cake