In the Covid-19 haze, I don’t know what inspiration hit me to decide to do a lemon cake. Possibly the overkill of banana breads spreading over my Instagram feed made it a little bit of a cringe-worthy feel to bake that. I do appreciate the need to use up bananas that are a bit too mushy for anything else – but there’s great other options for bananas. Here are some of my staples:
- Slice and freeze bananas to use in oats, smoothies, parfaits or any other breakfast or snack concoction.
- Freeze and blend with good quality cocoa powder for amazing nice cream. I always have a batch in my freezer for those midnight sweet cravings during our non stop Netflix and eat sessions.
- Banana oat pancakes with cinnamon vanilla and a splash of almond milk – greatest breakfast or treat for all ages (including my 9 month old!)
You’re welcome! 😇
So since the bananas are effectively dealt with, I thought why not use up some glorious summer lemons for a light tart tea time cake, frosted with lemon + sugar glaze and the last of the mahableshwar strawberries. I also wanted to make this as a way to use some expired greek yoghurt (yessssssss, I did!). Don’t be afraid, the cake is spectacular. Not too complicated, and an effective easter weekend treat (in the event you’re looking for some excuse). I used a mix of almond flour and regular flour, but you can use what you have and adjust the quantities, and fairly I’m sure you’ll still have a pretty dainty tea cake.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 100gm butter (salted is fine), room temperature
- 1 x 90/100ml pot of greek yoghurt
- 1 tbs vanilla bean extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbs lime/ lemon juice
- zest of 2 limes / lemons
- 2 tbs coconut flakes
- 3/4 cup sugar
- Glaze: 1/3 cup icing sugar + 1 tbs lime / lemon juice
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180*c and line a rectangular loaf tin with parchment paper.
- Mix together the butter, yoghurt and the milk. Add the lime juice, zest and vanilla.
- In a larger bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and then mix in the wet ingredients. Add the coconut flakes. transfer to the lined baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes till the cake is golden brown and springy.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack while you make the glaze by bringing the sugar and lime juice together using a fork. Glaze once the cake isn’t too hot, and enjoy with a cuppa.
Don’t miss my mascot in her lemon dress 🍋
