BLUEBERRY AND LEMON LOAF CAKE

Soured cream adds richness to this fruity bake.

Preparation 15 minutes, plus cooling Cooking about 1 hour 10 minutes

50ML VEGETABLE OIL, PLUS EXTRA TO GREASE 200G SELF-RAISING FLOUR

175G CASTER SUGAR

2 MEDIUM EGGS

200G SOURED CREAM

2 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT

FINELY GRATED ZEST 2 LEMONS

125G BLUEBERRIES

FOR THE ICING

75G ICING SUGAR, SIFTED

1½ TBSP LEMON JUICE

TO DECORATE, OPTIONAL

50G BLUEBERRIES

PARED LEMON ZEST

EDIBLE FLOWERS, OPTIONAL

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and a pinch of fine salt to combine. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the blueberries, and whisk briefly until just combined (a few lumps are a good thing in this recipe).

2 Fold in 100g of the blueberries and turn the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter over the remaining berries. Bake for about 1 hour-1 hour 10 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then gently ease out and leave to completely cool on a wire rack.

3 Mix the icing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth, then drizzle over the cooled cake. Scatter over the blueberries, lemon zest and edible flowers, if you like.

This cake might be simple to bake but its flavours really pack a punch