Lemon & Raspberry Yoghurt Loaf Cake

This is a lovely cake to make at the moment, when raspberries are in abundance; and the yoghurt and lemon juice help to keep this a really moist cake.

The quantities here make x2 loaf cakes, and they keep for up a week. You could also freeze once baked, but it's best to do so without the icing. We tend to deliver one as a gift when I bake this.

Lemon & Raspberry Yoghurt Loaf Cake

Here's how:

• 225g caster sugar
• 225g salted butter
• 225g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 75g natural yoghurt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 300g raspberries

For the icing:

• 400g icing sugar
• Juice & zest of x1 lemon
• 2 tbsp milk (may need more)
• 2 drops of pink food colouring (optional)
• 100g raspberries

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, and grease and line x2 loaf tins. 

In a large bowl, cream together the salted butter and caster sugar until combined. 

Now crack in each of the eggs one at a time, and combine. 

Now sift in the self raising flour and baking powder and mix until all combined. Add the zest and juice of the lemons and the yoghurt until you have a fairly liquid batter. Now add the raspberries, and stir through carefully so you don't break them all up. 

Divide the batter between the two loaf tins or one large tin and place both into the middle shelf of the oven and cook for exactly 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and cooked through. Check with a skewer in the centre of the cake, and if it comes out clean with no wet crumbs, it's cooked through. If it is a little wet and crumby return to the oven for five more minutes. 

Remove from the oven and allow to stand in the tins, somewhere cool for 10-15 minutes, then gently remove from the tin and place on a wire rack or board to cool further. 

Now make up the icing by combining the icing sugar in a large bowl, with the lemon juice and the 2 tbsp milk. You want the icing the be fairly thick and glossy liquid that can be spooned on top of the cake. If you need to, add a drop more milk at a time to get the right consistency. When satisfied, add the drops of food colouring, if using, to get a nice pretty pink colour and stir thoroughly so the colour is distributed throughout the icing. 

Spoon over the top of the cake, mostly on the middle allowing it to gently drip over the sides of the cake. 

Scatter over the raspberries on the top of the cake, any way you like, and then finally add the zest from the lemon over the top for a final pretty flourish. Enjoy!

Lemon & Raspberry Yoghurt Loaf Cake

If you love baking here are ten other cake recipes you might enjoy:

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake
Rhubarb and Custard Cake
Guilt Free Apple Cake
St Clement's Drizzle Cake
Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Carrot Cake
Peach Upside Down Cake
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Coffee & Walnut Cake with Vanilla Latte Icing
Simple Double Chocolate Traybake

Plain Scones

Cream Tea at Home

If you enjoy a cream tea, and like baking, then a simple scone recipe is a great one to have in your cooking armoury. 

You'll be surprised at how easy these are to make, and if you serve them slightly warm, they are just to die for. Buttery, crumbly and delicious - especially with a cup of tea.

As we are heading to Cornwall very soon, I served these the Cornish way; jam first, then the Roddas Clotted Cream - just perfect.

Plain Scones

Plain Scones

Here's how:

• 375g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 95g butter - room temperature, and cut into cubes
• 3.5 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 190ml milk (use full fat)
• 1 drop of lemon juice
• 1 beaten egg to brush over before baking
• Roddas Clotted Cream and some Strawberry Jam to serve

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and get a baking sheet ready - line it if you wish.

In a large bowl tip in the self raising flour, the salt and the baking powder and mix a little.

Now add the butter cubes into the bowl and use your hands to rub the mixture together, until it resembles breadcrumbs.

At this point add the sugar and mix well.

Measure out the milk into a small jug or bowl and add the vanilla then pop into the microwave for twenty seconds to take the chill off of it. 

At this point pop the baking tray into the oven to warm up as you want to place the uncooked scones onto a hot surface.

Now make a hole in the middle of the flour in the large bowl and pour in the liquid as well as the drop of lemon juice.

Use your hands to bring everything together, it will be quite wet to begin but will soon come together as a dough.

Once it is a dough consistency, scatter some more flour over a clean work surface and place the dough onto it. Use your hands to fold over the dough 3-4 times, until it is quite smooth. Be careful not to overwork it here.

Use your hands to then smooth it out into a flat piece of dough, it doesn't need to be perfectly straight or flat, just a similar thickness, about 3-4cm deep.

Now take a round cutter and make 4-6 scones. With any excess dough bring back together and press down and you can make another scone. 

Now quickly beat an egg and then remove the hot baking sheet from the oven. 

Place each scone onto the tray and brush over the beaten egg.

Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes until they are golden brown and well risen.

Serve warm with your choice of clotted cream, jam or even butter. Enjoy!

If you enjoy simple bakes here are a few other ideas you might enjoy:

Rhubarb & Custard Cake

Guilt Free Apple Cake

Lemon and Honey Yoghurt Cake

Lemon Curd and Blueberry Muffins

Simple Double Chocolate Tray Bake

Chocolate Cornflake and Marshmallow Cakes

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Banana and Berry Breakfast Muffins

Cheese Muffins

Rhubarb and Custard Cake

I made this cake for the first time on Sunday as an experiment as my parents were coming for dinner and both my Dad and I absolutely adore rhubarb. It made a completely delicious dessert served with good vanilla ice cream.

It had a tartness from the rhubarb but was well balanced with the sweet custard-flavoured cake batter and I’ll be sure to make it again. I mean, who doesn’t have a fondness for the combination of rhubarb and custard.

We eat the entire cake in one sitting between the six of us so that should give an indication of the reception it got. I will say it looked a little over-brown and charred when it came out of the oven, but it really did taste great.

I took inspiration from The Australian Women’s Weekly The Cake Stall recipe book which I was gifted a long time ago; but I made a cheat short-cut in adding ready-made custard instead of making my own. This added a thicker baked custard-like texture and just sped up the process (I was painting garden fences whilst preparing dinner on Sunday). Feel free to make your own custard though if you have plenty or time. 

Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Here’s how;

• 4 rhubarb stalks
• 110g Caster sugar
• 200g Softened butter
• 185g Self-raising flour
• 3 tbsp custard powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 carton or tin of ready-made custard

Firstly pre-heat the oven and grease and line a small but deep tin.

Now prepare the rhubarb stalks by cutting the ends off and then slicing length-ways down the rhubarb and setting aside.

In a mixing bowl cream together the sugar and softened butter until thick and creamy, then add the eggs, beating them in one at a time.

Next combine the flour and custard powder and sift into the wet mixture and mix until all is combined.

Now pour about half of the cake mixture into the bottom of the tin and smooth across so it’s evenly covering the base.

Now take a few of the rhubarb stalks and place them gently into the cake batter.

Next pour over the custard, and then finally spoon on the remaining cake batter and carefully spread over the custard.

For the final thing before baking, gently place the rhubarb on top of the cake batter, and press lightly down.

Place into the oven for 45 minutes, then test with a skewer to ensure when prodded the skewer comes out dry. If not return to the oven for a further ten minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or even more custard.

For more baking inspiration here are a few other cake recipes you might like:

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake

Guilt Free Apple Cake

Coffee and Walnut Tray Bake with Vanilla Latte Icing

St. Clement's Drizzle Cake

Peach Upside Down Cake

Lemon Honey and Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries

Carrot Cake

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake

My daughters love to cook with me but over all else, they love to bake. This morning, before heading out for the weekly shop, I gave my eldest, Bridget, Mary Berry's Baking Bible to rifle through and select something for us to bake together this afternoon - she chose this Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake.

It is a fairly simple bake and results in a lovely crumbly texture with a rich iced finish. It went down incredibly well in our household - whilst I'm more of a Lemon Drizzle Cake girl, everyone else loves a chocolate cake.

I took this from Mary Berry's Baking Bible in the 'chocolate cakes' section - aside from a couple of very minimal modifications, this is Mary's to the letter.

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake

Here's how:

• 225g softened salted butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self raising flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 level tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1.5-2 tablespoons warm water

For the icing:

• 150g dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons water
• 100g butter
• 80g milk chocolate

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a 3 pint ring mould generously. I use a silicon mould as find them easier to remove cakes from after baking that metal tins.

Omitting the cocoa powder and water - place everything else into a mixing bowl and fold in and mix well.

Once everything is well mixed, take a tablespoon and place 1 scooped tablespoon of the cake batter in the mould, and then repeat around the circular mould with small gaps in between each mound of batter. Use about half of the batter - this will help with the marbled effect.

Now pop the cocoa into a tea cup or mug and add the water and mix well, to an almost paste like consistence. Now add this to the remaining cake batter, and spoon over the batter in the gaps and all around until it is all in the mould.

Place the mould onto a baking tray and into the oven for 30-35 minutes. Test with a skewer that the cake is cooked through, and if so remove and leave in the mould for 5-10 minutes to cool a little. Then turn out carefully to cool completely - I place onto a wide chopping board as it's an easy place to ice the cake shortly.

For the icing, break the dark chocolate up and place into a bowl, with the butter and water. Place above a small saucepan of boiling water and allow to slowly melt, stirring with a wooden spoon to help it on its' way.

Once melted, it should have a beautiful glossy sheen to it, then spoon or pour over the cake to completely cover it. Now set aside somewhere cool and allow it to set for about an hour.

For the final part, break the milk chocolate into another bowl, and then place above the saucepan with recently boiled water. Once melted, transfer it to your piping vessel - you can of course use a piping bag, but I don't have much luck with them, so I just used a food bag and snipped a small hole in it.

Then finally drizzle over the cake in any pattern you'd like - the beauty of a homemade cake is the rustic appearance so let the children get involved and go crazy. Enjoy! 

Here are some other cakes and bakes you could attempt with your children as an activity during the holidays:
Simple Double Chocolate Traybake
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Guilt Free Apple Cake
Pig Face Cupcakes
Chocolate Cornflake and Marshmallow Cakes
Banana and Berry Breakfast Muffins
Deliciously Ella Sweet Potato Brownies
Monte Carlos Biscuits
St. Clement's Drizzle Cake

Lemon and Honey Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries

 

Bridget with her masterpiece - the Lemon and Honey Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries

Yoghurt cakes are a favourite in this household, they keep moist for longer than other cakes and can keep for a week or so in the fridge; if they don't get eaten sooner.

This one is flavoured with honey and lemon and I make it in a silicone bundt mould with blueberries popped onto the base, which makes a beautiful, squished blue and purple topping once baked; irresistible. With a quick lemon icing to finish the cake, it's always a crowd pleaser. You can play around with other fruits too but blueberries go really well with the lemon.

My eldest daughter, Bridget is almost three and absolutely loves cooking with me, and particularly baking. I think it's a great, sensory activity for children of all ages, and love the thought that I am instilling into her an interest and indeed, a passion for food and cooking. Today's bake is our first 'big' one together, outside of biscuits, cupcakes and fairy cakes, and I was so pleased it turned out so well to see her little happy face.  

Lemon and Honey Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries



Here's how:

• 325g caster sugar
• 60g butter
• 3 large eggs
• 230g Greek Natural Yoghurt
• Rind of one lemon
• 2 tbsp honey
• 175g self raising flour
• 100g blueberries
• drizzle of vegetable or rapeseed oil

For the icing:

• 150g icing sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease your bundt mould or tin with the vegetable or rapeseed oil. (Obviously you can use a different shaped baking tin if you don't have a bundt). If using a silicone mould, like myself, place onto a baking tray or tin.

Pop the blueberries into the base of the bundt (or other) mould, no particular pattern, just try to evenly spread them around.



Separate the eggs, with the yolks being popped into a large mixing bowl and the whites into a smaller one.

Now add to the egg yolks the butter and sugar and beat until smooth. Add the rind of the lemon and the yoghurt and mix well. Now stir through the honey.



Now beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed and there are lots of bubbles, to ensure a good rise. Now slowly fold the egg whites into the cake batter.

Finally pour the batter into the cake mould, even out as much as possible and then place the mould into the centre of the oven.



Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown, and when pricked with a skewer, it comes out dry.

Leave to cool for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cake stand or plate, and once turned over, gently peel the mould away.

Lemon and Honey Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries pre-icing



To make the icing, simply sift the icing sugar into a small bowl, and juice the lemon and mix well. You should be left with a thick, glossy, white icing. Use a spoon to drizzle over the top - be warned if making this with a little person, like Bridget, expect this to become a bit of a sticky mess, but it only adds to the fun. For a final flourish, add the leftover lemon zest over the top of the icing.

Lemon and Honey Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries



Leave the icing to set for thirty minutes or so, and then serve, preferably with a mug of tea. Enjoy!

Some other cake ideas that might be fun to make with your little ones:
Guilt Free Apple Cake
Pig Face Cupcakes
Double Chocolate Traybake
Chocolate Cornflake and Marshmallow Cakes
Lemon Drizzle Cake
St Clement's Drizzle Cake
Lemon Curd and Blueberry Muffins
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake