Lemon thyme yoghurt cake with lemon icing

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus cooling time Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 10

You can make this with orange or lime instead, and finish it with syrup (while the cake is still warm) instead of a glaze.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake

– butter, for greasing – 300g plain flour, plus

extra for dusting

– 2 large eggs

– 180ml oil (mild-tasting olive oil, or sunflower or groundnut oil) – 250g full-fat Greek

yoghurt

– finely grated zest of 1 large lemon, plus 80ml juice

– 200g caster sugar

– 3 tsp baking powder – leaves from 3 lemon

thyme sprigs, chopped

For the icing

– 150g icing sugar, sifted – 15g butter, softened

– 2 tbsp lemon juice – lemon thyme leaves,

to decorate (optional)

METHOD

Heat the oven to 170C / 160C fan/gas mark 3½. Butter and flour a 2.4-2.5 litre bundt tin, shaking out the excess flour.

In a measuring jug, mix the eggs, oil, yoghurt, zest, juice and sugar. Whisk these together with a fork.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, ½ tsp salt and the lemon thyme leaves. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking with a fork until you have a smooth mixture.

Pour the batter into the bundt tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, covering the top with foil if it becomes too dark. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave to stand for 10 minutes, then run a knife between the edges of the cake and the inside of the tin at the rim. Turn the cake out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.

To make the icing, put the icing sugar, butter and lemon juice in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth icing. It shouldn’t be too runny or it won’t sit in the curves created by the bundt tin. Leave to firm up just a little, then drizzle over the cake. Scatter on some lemon thyme leaves, if using, and leave until the icing has set.