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Orange, olive oil and thyme loaf

Orange, olive oil + thyme loaf

An easy-to-make loaf cake with Extra Virgin olive oil, fresh thyme and a citrusy orange icing.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients
  

For the cake

  • 170 g plain flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 60 g ground almonds
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme roughly chopped
  • 175 g  Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 75 ml  Extra Virgin olive oil
  • 170 g  granulated sugar
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 2 oranges zested

For the glaze (optional)

  • 1.5 oranges juiced
  • 3 tbsp icing sugar sifted

For the icing

  • 130 g icing sugar sifted
  • 1/2 orange juiced
  • 1 tbsp double cream

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4.
  • Grease and line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
  • In a large bowl, sift together your flour and baking powder, then add the salt, ground almonds and freshly chopped thyme. Mix together.
  • In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients except for the olive oil using an electric whisk – the yoghurt, the vanilla bean paste and the eggs, as well as the granulated sugar and zest of your two oranges.
  • Add the wet ingredients to your bowl of dry ingredients and whisk together until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to catch any stray flour.
  • Add the Extra Virgin olive oil and fold it into the cake batter, using a spatula until there are no streaks of oil left.
  • Pour into your prepared tin, level out the top and place in the oven for 50 minutes.
  • Remove your cake from the oven, and insert a skewer into the centre along the crack in the top. If your skewer comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it, your cake is ready. If it comes out wet, pop your loaf back in the oven for another 5 – 10 minutes.
    N.B. If you need to pop it back in and the top is browning too quickly, cover it with silver foil before baking further.
  • Place on a wire rack, still in the tin, and if you are glazing your cake, prick all over with a cocktail stick, skewer or cake tester.

For the glaze (optional)

  • In the meantime, make your glaze {if you want to add this – it’ll give your loaf a stronger orange flavour, will make it slightly more moist and means you use up all the oranges but without it tastes just as good!} and icing.
  • Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and cut your zested oranges in half. Juice 3 halves and pour the juice into your bowl, mixing until you have a runny glaze to pour over your cake when it comes out the oven.

For the icing

  • For the icing, sift your icing sugar into another bowl and juice the remaining half orange. Pour the juice into the icing sugar and mix until completely combined. Add 1tbsp of double cream and mix again.

To finish

  • Pour your glaze over the cake allowing it to seep in. Place on a wire rack and leave to cool for 20-30 minutes before turning out of the tin and leaving to cool completely.
  • Once the cake is cool, pour the icing over the top and leave to set before slicing.
  • Store in Tupperware in the fridge and consume within three days.
Keyword cake, loaf, olive oil, orange, thyme