I have spent the last month and a half experimenting with baking this, that and the other . . . trying to bake something which is diabetic friendly that is satisfying and toothsome . . . I'm still working on it. So far most of my efforts have been incredibly lacklustre and pretty blah. I find myself yearning for a cooking I can sink my teeth into that actually tastes good. Sigh . . . I feel a bit disheartened at times when I think will I never ever be able to eat a cookie or a cake that tastes good again????
Have I ever told you about how much I love the flavour of lemon??? How about how much I ADORE blueberries???? I do so love both of them . . . especially in baked goodies. This is a love loaf cake I have made often in the past.
I baked one today just for Todd . . . he had a bit and I gave the rest away, because I don't dare have it in the house. Not at all. It's not fair for him to be deprived or punished because of my sins however, and so I do have to bake him something tasty every now and again. I just have to be strong when it's around, and then get rid of it as fast as I can to get temptation out of my way. Sad but true. Experience has taught me I will even eat frozen slices of cake. So the only safe thing is not to have it anywhere in the house.
The flavours of lemon and blueberries are showcased beautifully in this delicious and scrummily moist loaf cake. Oh so fabulously tasty. With lots of lemon flavour, both in the batter, where you use lemon curd and lemon zest . . . and then in that tart/sweet drizzle icing which is strongly flavoured with lemon.
Then there are the blueberries. They settle somewhere in the middle of this cake like a layer of sweet blueberry jam . . . except it's not blueberry jam, just cooked blueberries.
It's really quick to throw together too. You just throw all of the batter ingredients into a bowl and beat them together! What could be any easier than that??? Not much I reckon!
After that, it's really just a matter of layering the batter and the berries into a prepared loaf tin. I have gotten really lazy lately. I discovered loaf pan sized parchment paper pan liners! They're just like cupcake liners, except bigger . . . and shaped like loaf. They work fabulously! (I got mine at Lakeland.)
Baked in a slow oven until lightly browned and oh so scrummy, and then . . . glazed with that beautiful lemon drizzle icing. You will hardly be able to keep yourself from tucking in right away . . . and you will know why I had to give half of this away.
But really . . . do wait until it cools. If my memory serves me right, your patience will be well rewarded. Seriously. And if you are lucky, you may even be able to keep it all for yourself. Sigh . . . I wish . . .
*Blueberry and Lemon Loaf*
Cuts into 8 to 10 slices
All in one loaf cake, made with Greek yoghurt, lemon curd and fresh blueberries, and iced with a lemon drizzle icing. Delicious, moist and easy!
175g of butter, softened (3/4 cup)
100g of thick Greek Yoghurt (scant 1/2 cup)
2 TBS of lemon curd (heaped)
3 large free range eggs
the zest of one unwaxed lemon
200g of self raising flour (generous 1 3/4 cup)
175g of golden caster sugar (9/10 of a cup)
200g fresh blueberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
For the icing:
140g of sifted icing sugar (1 generous cup)
the juice of one lemon
Preheat the oven to 16-*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a 2 pound loaf tin and line with parchment paper. (I've been using the liners you can get from Lakeland. They're like a bit cupcake liner. Easy peasy.)
Put the butter, yoghurt, lemon curd, eggs, lemon zest, caster sugar and flour into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until the batter just comes together. Spoon half of it into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle half of the blueberries over top. Spoon the rest of the batter over top of the berries and then scatter the remainder of the berries over top to finish.
Bake for 1 1/4 hours, until golden in colour and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before lifting out to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice to make a runny drizzable icing. Pour over top of the cake, spreading it out to cover. Allow to set before serving.
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