Cakes & Bakes: Lemon & poppy seed loaf

Whenever I ask Justin what kind of cake he fancies, his reply always starts with the word ‘lemon’.

Lemon isn’t my own personal favourite, but I decided to grant his wish today.

I’ve made him lemon drizzle cake, lemon curd tarts, lemon marmalade bars, lemon & polenta berry squares, lemon refrigerator cookies…

So something new – lemon & poppy seed loaf.

It has the sharpness of citrus combined with a slightly earthy tone provided by the poppy seeds.

The cake batter is quick and easy to make.

I folded whisked egg whites into the batter so the texture wasn’t too dense and heavy.

The resulting loaf is substantial, but also light and open textured.

It’s topped with a lemon glaze and a zingy, crunchy sugar topping…

…another request from the lemon-meister!

It’s one of those perfect afternoon cakes to complement a nice cuppa… and his Lordship is very happy!

Lemon & poppy seed loaf

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Course Tea

Cuisine British

Servings 8

Ingredients

For the loaf

115 g/4oz butter softened
225 g/8oz caster sugar
3 eggs separated
185 g/6⅔oz plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt
1 tbsp poppy seeds
85 g/3fl oz buttermilk
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 2 lemons

For the glaze

1½ tbsp icing sugar
juice of half a lemon
½ tbsp granulated sugar
pinch of lemon zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4
Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin

For the loaf

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & caster sugar until light & fluffy
Mix in the egg yolks
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt
Mix in the poppy seeds
In a measuring jug, add the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest (reserve a pinch of the zest for the glaze)
Add the dry, flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in two batches; interspersing it with adding the buttermilk & lemon mixture
Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks before folding into the mixture
Spoon the mixture into the greased loaf tin and bake on the lowest shelf for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes away clean.. If the top of the loaf begins to get too brown, cover with tin foil
Whilst the cake is cooking, make the glaze.
Add the lemon juice & icing sugar to a small measuring jug and stir until any lumps have been removed. Set aside
In a small bowl, add the granulated sugar & lemon zest and with your fingers using a crumbing motion. Set aside
Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin
Whilst still warm and using a pastry brush, spread the lemon juice & icing sugar glaze uniformly over the top
Once completely cool, remove the cake from the tin a place on a cake plate
Sprinkle the granulated sugar & lemon zest mixture over the top of the glazed cake
It's now ready to serve!

Keyword cake, lemon, loaf cake, poppy seeds, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Yorkshire tea loaf

This week’s Cakes & Bakes features a traditional Yorkshire tea loaf – packed with fruit. We often sit down for a break at about four in the afternoon – and absolutely love this kind of thing as an accompaniment to our brew. Sweet, sticky and full of good things to give you a mid-afternoon energy boost.

There’s a very simple list of ingredients.

It’s vital that you soak the dried fruit in tea overnight – it makes a big difference to the end result, so don’t be tempted to skip this stage!

It’s everything in one bowl method.

Preparation is easy, so you can’t go wrong!

The loaf keeps well for up to 2 weeks, but it probably won’t hang around that long though.

It’s delicious served on its own or with a thin scrape of butter (thick scrape in Justin’s case).

Even just looking at it in pictures, we’re tempted to get the kettle on!!

Click here to pin the recipe for later!

Yorkshire tea loaf

Clandestine Cake Club

The perfect accompaniment to a cup of afternoon tea!

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Course Tea

Cuisine British

Ingredients

350 g mixed dried fruit currants, sultanas, raisins, mixed peel. Try adding a tbsp of crystallised ginger
350 ml strong tea brewed for 3-4 mins
2 eggs
200 g brown soft sugar
270 g self raising flour

Instructions

Brew a large, strong mug of tea (we usually use loose Yorkshire tea... of course! But any strong breakfast or afternoon tea will do!)
Put the mixed dried fruit into a medium mixing bowl
Allow the tea to brew and cool slightly before pouring it into the mixing bowl (it should just about cover all the fruit
Cover with cling film/Saran wrap for a few hours, ideally overnight, to allow the tea to plump up the fruit
In the morning, preheat the oven to 170ºC/340ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease 2 x 450g/1lb loaf tins (or 1 x 900g/2lb loaf tin)
In a measuring jug, lightly beat the eggs before adding them to the mixed fruit and any un-soaked liquid
Add the sugar and combine well
Pour evenly into the loaf tins and bake for 40-50 mins or until an inserted skewer comes away clean. If you're using a 900g tin, baking will take about 60-75 mins
Leave the loaves in their tins to cool completely before turning them out
They'll keep for a couple of weeks if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in a cool, airtight container

Keyword fruitcake, loaf cake, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Saffron loaf

I’ve somehow managed to get to the wrong side of mid-40 without ever having tasted saffron. Justin, however, has used it in some of the kitchens he’s worked in (he’s so windswept & interesting!).

It’s often added to rice dishes and sauces, but I obviously decided to give it my first outing in a cake!

Saffron loaf is a traditional Cornish recipe. It’s a very straightforward bake; mix the dry ingredients, crumb in the butter, add the saffron-infused milk, form a soft dough, a short prove then pop it in the oven for about an hour.

This isn’t a dainty cake. You can cut it into small, delicate pieces for a touch of refinement, of course… but we didn’t go down the Ritz afternoon tea route and had a large slice (with a scraping of butter!).

A rustic pottery mug full of strong tea was the ideal accompaniment.

It’s sweet & fruity with the subtle, yet distinctive, saffron flavour coming through nicely.

A delicious late afternoon pick-me-up – a perfect way to satisfy that peckish stage between lunch & dinner.

Saffron loaf

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Cook Time 1

Course Tea

Cuisine British

Ingredients

0.1 g saffron threads
125 ml/4½ fl oz milk
500 g/18oz plain flour
10 g/⅓oz dried fast-action yeast
pinch salt
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
250 g/9oz cold butter cubed
250 g/9oz golden caster sugar
350 g/12oz mixed dried fruit I used raisins, currants and sultanas

Instructions

Grease a 1kg/2.2lb loaf tin
Heat the saffron and milk in a pan over a medium heat until the mixture has turned yellow and is almost simmering
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and nutmeg
Add the butter and sugar and rub in using your fingertips or pastry blender until it forms the consistency of breadcrumbs
Stir in the dried fruit until well combined
Add the yeast to the saffron milk mixture, stir well before adding it to the dry mixture
Mix until the mixture comes combines to form a soft dough
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth
Put the dough into the greased loaf tin, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
Bake for an hour, or until the loaf is beginning to brown
Remove from the oven, leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin on to a wire rack and allowing it to cool further

Great sliced and spread with butter and/or thin slices of cheddar cheese. Have it toasted when it's a few days old.

Keyword loaf cake, saffron, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

We’re big fans of the Great British Bake Off, so we tuned into the recent inaugural series of Paul Hollywood’s Bread (and put his accompanying book into our Amazon wish-list) with great interest.

One of the recipes he did which I’ve never attempted before is malt loaf. Whenever I’ve eaten shop bought (and there seems to be just the one brand available in supermarkets!) I’ve always found it a dry, chewy and not very tasty. I thought I’d give it a try – surely I could do better!

I wasn’t wrong! Mr Hollywood’s version is far superior (in my humble opinion). Perfect with just a scraping (or lashings, if you prefer) of butter. Serve it as part of a special afternoon tea with homemade sweet scones, jam and clotted cream… cucumber sandwiches… you know, that kind of thing

Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Paul Hollywood

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Prep Time 2

Cook Time 30

Total Time 2 30

Course Tea

Cuisine British

Ingredients

1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp malt extract
2 tbsp black treacle
25 g/1oz butter plus extra for greasing
350 g/12oz strong white bread flour plus extra for flouring
100 g/3½oz strong wholemeal flour
pinch salt
14 g/½oz fast action yeast
225 g/8oz sultanas
250 ml/9fl oz warm water
1 tbsp warm honey to glaze

Instructions

Place the sugar, malt extract, treacle and butter in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool.
Mix the flours, salt, yeast and sultanas in a mixing bowl.
Pour in the cooled malt syrup mixture and the warm water. Mix thoroughly; the mixture will be soft and sticky.
Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently for a few minutes to bring the mixture together.
Grease two 450g/1lb loaf tins and divide the mixture between them. Smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon so that the top is smooth and level. Cover each tin with a reusable food cover so that it's loose and not touching the top of the tin. Leave for a couple of hours, or until the dough has risen to the top of the tins.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Remove the plastic covers and bake for 30-40 minutes. If the top of the loaf starts to brown too quickly, cover with a sheet of foil and continue baking.
Remove from the oven and brush the top with warm honey to glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
Slice and eat with butter.

Keyword cake, loaf cake, malt loaf, tea loaf

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: loaf cake

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon & poppy seed loaf

Lemon & poppy seed loaf

Ingredients

For the loaf

For the glaze

Instructions

For the loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Yorkshire tea loaf

Yorkshire tea loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Saffron loaf

Saffron loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Ingredients

Instructions