Happy New Year to you all ! I hope you all had a very lovely Christmas and a wonderful New Year, if you have made resolutions I hope that they are going well and you are managing to stick to them. I never make any, as I know if I try to give up wine, cheese or cake I will fail miserably. I do set goals for the year, this year I am hoping to do some courses in soft furnishings, upholstery and furniture restoration. We still have so much work to do in the house and I am hoping by attaining these new skills it will help towards getting it finished. I hope !!!!

Anyway, on to my first recipe of the year for you. I have been meaning to bake this recipe for ages, after seeing it on Nigel Slater’s TV program. I love a lemon loaf cake at the best of times, its just perfect served with a cup of tea after the school run, but the addition of the thyme really appealed to me.

So one weekend morning I got up inspired to make this cake, knowing we were going out for a walk with the new puppy, I knew that it would be just perfect for afternoon tea when we got back. Curled up on the sofa with Hubby, feeling restored after  walk & some fresh air, it was just heavenly.

Its very simple to make and is really tangy & moist.

Buon appetito

200g/7oz butter
200g/7oz golden caster sugar
100g/3½oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g/3½oz ground almonds
4 free-range eggs
1 lemon, zest only
1 tsp thyme leaves

For the topping
4 tbsp sugar
2 large lemons, juice only
½ tsp thyme leaves

Preparation method

Pre-heat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.

Cream the butter with the sugar in a food mixer until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl sift together the flour and baking powder then mix with the almonds.

Lightly beat the eggs then fold them into the butter mixture in two or three sessions, beating them in thoroughly each time. If the mixture looks as if it is about to curdle, stir in some of the flour.

Grate the zest from the lemon and mix it with the thyme leaves. Pound the two together with a pestle, or some other heavy weight, and stir into the cake mixture.

Gradually mix in the flour, baking powder and almonds.

Spoon the cake mixture into the lined tin and bake for 45 minutes (if dividing the mixture into smaller tins reduce the time accordingly).

For the topping, dissolve the sugar in the juice of the lemons over a moderate heat and stir in the thyme leaves (a few flowers would be good here too). As the cake comes from the oven, spike the surface with a skewer and spoon over the syrup.

Leave to cool and serve in slices with thick yoghurt.