New Season Lemons

With today being officially the first day of Winter, most people out there will despair being in the depths of deep, dark, winter hibernation. Though peaking out through the drizzle & rain comes a bright yellow beacon of flavour. Lemons! Just when you need that vitamin C hit & nothing else is fruiting out there in the yard, Citrus really prove their worth as a member of the garden. It is only with this chill of winter that the citrus begin to change colour from green to yellow. With all this fresh Lemon bounty and also being stuck inside, its a perfect time to bust out one of my favourite baking recipes: Lemon & Poppyseed Yoghurt Loaf. This loaf is extra moist due to using yoghurt instead of butter. This also helps it stay moist & fresh for days (if it lasts that long). The batter comes together in minutes and only takes about an hour to bake in the oven. Once cooled the loaf is topped off with a lemon syrup for extra added moisture, then finished with a lemon earl grey glaze. You could also make these into muffins or cupcakes too, just be sure to adjust the baking time.

Lemon Poppyseed Cake 

with a Lemony Earl Grey Glaze.

Cake:

1½ cups Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

5 Tbsp Poppyseeds

1 cup plain Greek Yoghurt

1 cup White Sugar

3 Eggs

3 tsp Lemon Zest (from about 2 lemons)

½ tsp Vanilla

½ cup Vegetable oil

Syrup:

½ cup Lemon Juice, strained (from about 3 lemons)

½ cup Sugar

Glaze:

1 cup Icing Sugar

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, strained

1 tsp ground Earl Grey Tea leaves (about 1 teabag)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°. Grease a cake or loaf tin according to which you prefer, dust with flour, then tap out any excess.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and poppyseeds; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together yoghurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and vegetable oil. Slowly add into the dry ingredients until mixed.

4. Pour batter into the tin and bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let it cool for 10 mins in the tin before transferring to a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath.

5. While the loaf is cooling, make your syrup. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together lemon juice & sugar until dissolved. Cook for another 5 mins until it thickens. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the warm lemon syrup. Let sit for 5 mins to let the cake soak in the syrup, then baste again. Repeat two times. Let cool completely.

6. To make the glaze, whisk together icing sugar, lemon juice & tea leaves.  When loaf has cooled, pour the glaze over your cake or loaf, let harden for 20 mins, then slice and serve.