believe me, this is the best teatime loaf I have ever tasted. Simple, quick and easy to make, it is the perfect afternoon treat! Putting a tiny dollop of yoghurt in the sponge keeps it moist and rich, whilst the orange zest gives it a tang and livens things up.
I took this to our summer street party, where I won the cake competition, judged by a lovely lady who owns a cafe where I live. Who would have thought something so simple could be so utterly delicious. In her own words “this loaf would be just perfect with a cup of Earl Grey tea”. Enjoy.
Orange, Almond and Yoghurt Loaf
Serves 8-10
190g unsalted butter
130g plain flour
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
190g caster sugar
3 large eggs
60g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
25g plain yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
10g flaked almonds
1 Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3, then grease a loaf tin with butter and line with baking parchment.
2 Use an electric whisk to cream the butter, sugar ad orange zest until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring you mix well after each addition. Don’t over-mix as this will cause the mixture to curdle.
3 Sift the flour, ground almonds, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the cake batter in two batches. Mix well on a low speed and scrape down the sides of the bowl, so as not to miss any. Add the yoghurt and vanilla essence.
4 Change the speed to a higher setting and whisk until you get a smooth, even batter. Pour into the prepared loaf tin, sprinkle the flaked almonds on top and place in the oven to bake for approximately 50-60 mins, until the sponge is firm to the tough and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
5 Allow the cake to cool slightly before removing from the tin and leaving on a wire rack to cool completely.
Taken from Cake Days by The Hummingbird Bakery
