You might have noticed I’m not a big cake recipe writer. I’ve too often felt imposter syndrome when it comes to sweet recipes. But gradually, as my motherly need for cake becomes more and more pressing, I’ve built up my confidence and my catalogue. Today, I’m sharing a loaf cake recipe that I first wrote 4 years ago. It’s an easy blueberry-flecked lemon drizzle cake with ground almonds and olive oil for an ultimately satisfying crumb.

Sod’s law has it that the week I had planned to share my Lemon and Blueberry Loaf Cake recipe everyone else seemed to be sharing one too. David Lebovitz’s newsletter had one by Ottolenghi and I saw this lovely looking oat-topped lemon and blueberry ricotta cake the next day. Then literally as I was writing this newsletter, this one flew into my inbox. I cursed! Would it look like I had jumped on the lemon and blueberry bandwagon?

But as the Osmonds and Franki Valli once sung: I’m not the proud one! Believe me! And in the words of Nancy Sinatra, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat, you know”. What I’m trying to say is there is room for more than one blueberry and lemon cake in the world. Here’s mine.

The goal for me here was a loaf cake that was soft and light. A sort of blueberry muffin/lemon drizzle cross. I also wanted it to be easy to mix together without any electric gadgets. A cake with lemon in the title that doesn't actually taste lemony is a fraud, so don't hold back on the juice.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries here. Frozen tend to sink to the bottom of the cake more, but I tend to eat a slice from a loaf cake side-to-side anyway rather than top to bottom (because I’m not insane). So there is still blueberry in each bite. You can toss the frozen berries in flour first to give them the best chance of not sinking too much. Personally I don’t mind that they do this… I enjoy that the blueberries will go where the blueberries want. I enjoy that the top of the cake is moist from the lemon drizzle and the bottom from the blueberries. I enjoy that we don’t have to cream butter and sugar together here. I enjoy cake.

You can watch me making this a few year’s ago here, if you like a video recipe.

Lemon and Blueberry Loaf Cake

80g melted butter, plus extra for greasing
60ml olive oil
200g fresh or frozen blueberries (the smaller the bluebs, the less prone to sinking)
2 large lemons, zest and juice
160g plain flour
80g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
200g caster sugar
3 smallish eggs
100ml whole milk (or buttermilk)
100g demerara sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin and set aside. Mix together your flour, baking powder, ground almonds and salt.

2. Place the caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and rub together briefly between your fingers. Add the eggs and whisk until well mixed, then add the olive oil and melted butter, as well as 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and mix until combined.

3. Add a spoonful of the flour mixture to the wet mix, then add the milk gradually. Finally, fold in the rest of the flour mixture in 3 goes. Whisk briefly to get rid of any lumps.

4. Spoon ⅓ of the cake mixture into the bottom of your loaf tin and scatter over ⅓ of the blueberries. Repeat twice more, finishing with a layer of blueberries. Bake the cake for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (cooking time will vary depending on your oven). You may need to cover the cake with foil half way through, if it looks as though it is browning too quickly.

5. Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Put 75g of the demerara sugar into a small pan and add in the remaining lemon juice. Boil until the sugar has melted.

6. Remove the cake from the oven and set it aside in its tin to cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and place on a wire rack. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Poke holes over the cake with a cocktail stick or similar. Then, placing the wire rack over a plate, pour or brush the lemon drizzle over the cake and sprinkle the top with the remaining demerara sugar. Have a slice! The cake will keep wrapped in greaseproof paper and foil or in an airtight container for 3 days (I keep it out of the fridge but if it’s very warm in your kitchen you may like to refrigerate it).

1 year ago… Tajín Fish and Chips
2 years ago… Dee’s Lamb Biryani