SATURDAY MAGAZINE 591 Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas- Grease a standard-sized loaf
tin and line it with baking paper.
2 Beat the eggs and sugar with
a mixer until thick and fluffy. Then
add the dry ingredients – flour,
baking powder, lemon zest and
poppy seeds – to your mixer bowl
and beat to combine.
3 Place the butter, lemon juice
and milk in a suitable bowl and
heat it in the microwave in
30-second bursts until the butter
has just melted. Then add half of
it at a time to your mixer bowl and
beat well after each addition.
4 Pour the batter into the
prepared tin, pop it in your
preheated oven and bake for
50-60 minutes until golden brown
on top, and when you give it
a poke with a skewer, the skewer
comes out clean. Remove from
the oven and allow to cool slightly
in the tin, then tip out the loaf on
to a cooling rack.
5 Mix together the glaze
ingredients and pour over
the warm loaf, so the liquid
dribbles down the sides.
Top with a sprinkling of dried
flowers. The loaf can be sliced
and frozen (put baking paper
between the slices to stop them
sticking), then simply pop a slice
in the microwave to heat through
or toast it.
Lemon & Poppy Seed Loaf
A classic loaf cake with an added
summery touch of lavender.TIP: Grab
a regular
teaspoon, dip
the handle into
the lavender oil and
flick the amount
that gathers into
your glaze.
MAKES: 1 STANDARD LOAF
★ 150g butter, plus extra
for greasing
★ 2 eggs
★ 250g caster sugar
★ 350g plain flour
★ 2 tsp baking powder
★ 1 tbsp lemon zest
★ 50g poppy seeds
★ 100g lemon juice
★ 100g milk
★ Dried edible flowers,
eg, lavender, pansies,
cornflowers
FOR THE CITRUS AND
LAVENDER GLAZE:
★ 100g icing sugar
★ 2 tbsp lemon juice
★ Half drop food-grade lavender
oil (see tip, below left)