Lemon Curd and Blueberry Loaf Cake

"Given up baking then?" was the taunt from afar. Nah, still at it with a cake every week, more or less, for our local Pop-up Café. Here's my latest offering: Lemon Curd and Blueberry loaf cake. It meets all my baking criteria: a simple recipe to follow, easy-to-get ingredients and just a little bit different. Although the quantities listed are for a single 2 lb loaf tin, I always double up and put one in the freezer for later. Blog readers are always welcome to come around for a slice or two - provided you can answer this simple question: who links Piblokto, The Battered Ornaments and Cream? Clue: it's not Eric Clapton. Now, to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 175g softened butter
• 100 g Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons good quality lemon curd
• 3 eggs
• Zest and juice 1 1/2 lemons, plus extra zest for the topping
• 200g self-raising flour
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 100g blueberries
• 140g icing sugar

 

Method

• Heat oven to 160C fan.
• Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
• Put yogurt, lemon curd, the softened butter, eggs, lemon zest, flour and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl. Quickly mix with an electric whisk until the batter just comes together. Scrape half into the prepared tin. Sprinkle half of the blueberries into the tin, scrape the rest of the batter on top, then scatter the other half of the berries on top. Bake for around an hour until golden and a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin, then carefully lift onto a serving plate to ice. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in enough lemon juice to make a thick, smooth icing. Dribble over the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle some lemon zest over the icing on top.

Taste Test

 

I enjoyed the half slice that came my way. Feedback from the Pop-up Punters says that it tasted very good and is definitely in the 'one to do again' category. If I do, I'll try replacing the yoghurt with buttermilk and perhaps stir in a couple of tablespoons of lemon curd into the top before the final sprinkling of blueberries.