Thyme Cake

Thyme Cake – a brilliant twist on a plain loaf cake

This Thyme Cake is a basic lemon loaf cake to which is added the wonderful flavour of fresh thyme. As the name of my blog probably suggests, I love using herbs and spices in my cooking. They are a fantastic way of making your dishes unusual and memorable without having to use any particularly advanced culinary skills. You simply just add them into your dishes.

Fresh herbs are used widely in savoury dishes but I love to experiment with them in sweet dishes, such as cakes, biscuits and desserts. The recipe for this Thyme Cake was inspired by the success of another herb-infused cake, my Rosemary Cake.

I love thyme, it is one of my favourite herbs and I use it widely in savoury dishes such as Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme and Dauphinoise Potatoes. I have also already used it in sweet dishes such as Thyme Biscuits with Pinenuts and in Thyme Ice Cream with Honey and Mascarpone. It seemed a natural progression to try it in a cake.

This Thyme Cake, like my other loaf cake recipes, is very quick and easy. It is a basic lemon loaf cake, topped with drizzle, but the flavour is transformed by the addition of fresh thyme. The taste of lemon and thyme makes me think about Mediterranean holidays and sunshine!

If you like this cake, you may like some of the other loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Rosemary Cake, Earl Grey and Orange Cake,Lemon DrizzleBlood OrangeLime and CoconutRum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

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Thyme Cake with Lemon

Thyme Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This easy loaf cake highlights the wonderful herby fragrance of fresh thyme.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 125 g butter
  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 lemon
  • Approximately ten sprigs of fresh thyme (each about 5 cm long) plus a few additional sprigs to decorate, if required.
  • 100 g icing sugar

 


Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment or use a paper loaf tin liner.
  3. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  4. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour. 
  5. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  6. Add the milk and the grated zest of your lemon.
  7. Remove the leaves from your sprigs of thyme and chop finely.  Put half of the chopped leaves (about 2 teaspoons) into the cake mixture.  The other half should be reserved for use in the drizzle.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  10. While the cake is baking, put the juice from your lemon in a small bowl  and add the reserved half of the chopped thyme leaves.   Heat in the microwave for 1 minute. The idea is to heat the juice so that the thyme releases its fragrance.  (If you don’t have a microwave, you can heat the juice in a saucepan over a low heat on the stove.)    Allow the juice containing the chopped thyme leaves to cool slightly.  Then combine it with 100 g of icing sugar to form a thick syrup.
  11. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
  12. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing.   If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.
  13. You can decorate the cake with a few further sprigs of thyme.

Keywords: thyme, loaf cake, thyme cake, culinary herbs

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Rosemary Cake

Rosemary Cake with Lemon

I love using herbs in both savoury and sweet recipes. This Rosemary Cake with Lemon is a great demonstration of how the addition of a herb can elevate a very easy and simple recipe. It is unusual but not in a scary way. The flavour of the rosemary is not overpowering but enhances the lemon-flavoured cake. I think it is a fantastic way of showcasing the flavour of this wonderful herb, with its warm, spicy flavour.

This Rosemary Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Earl Grey and Orange Cake,Lemon DrizzleBlood OrangeLime and CoconutRum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

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Rosemary Cake with Lemon

Rosemary Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

The use of fresh rosemary provides and unusual and delicious twist to this easy lemon-flavoured cake.

 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 125 g butter
  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary (each about 10 cm long) plus a few additional sprigs to decorate, if required.
  • 100 g icing sugar

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment or use a paper loaf tin liner.
  3. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  4. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour. 
  5. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  6. Add the milk and the grated zest of your lemon.
  7. Remove the needle-like leaves from your sprigs of rosemary and chop finely.  Put half of the chopped leaves (about 2 teaspoons) into the cake mixture.  The other half should be reserved for use in the drizzle.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  10. While the cake is baking, put the juice from your lemon in a small bowl  and add the reserved half of the chopped rosemary leaves.   Heat in the microwave for 1 minute. The idea is to heat the juice so that the rosemary releases its fragrance.  (If you don’t have a microwave, you can heat the juice in a saucepan over a low heat on the stove.)    Allow the juice containing the chopped rosemary leaves to cool slightly.  Then combine it with 100 g of icing sugar to form a thick syrup.
  11. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
  12. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing.   If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.
  13. You can decorate the cake with a few further sprigs of rosemary.

Keywords: lemon cake, rosemary cake, loaf cake

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Latte Cake

Latte Cake – a mild coffee cake topped with Salted Caramel

I make a lot of coffee cakes – everyone in my household loves coffee cake – but this Latte Cake with Salted Caramel drizzle is a bit different. It has a slightly milder coffee flavour and the salted caramel of the drizzle cuts through the sweetness of the icing.

The inspiration, and main taste consultant, for this cake is my daughter. Whenever we go for coffee, she always chooses a Salted Caramel Latte, hot in winter and iced in summer. She suggested that the flavours that she likes in her drink would also be good in a cake. And this cake shows she was right!

As with many of my cakes, this is a very straightforward, basic loaf cake recipe which has allowed me to play with the flavours. The cake is a mild coffee flavour, topped with coffee buttercream. The thing that makes it particularly good is the salted caramel drizzle that goes on top. This gives a real punch of sweet and saltiness which lifts the whole cake. One of the things that I love about cooking is the way very simple additions or twists to a recipe can transform it into something much, much better.

Home-made Salted Caramel

If you have never tried making your own Salted Caramel, I would really encourage you to give it a go. It is really quick and easy and is so much more delicious – sweet, creamy, buttery – than any shop-bought, pre-made versions. It is clearly not the healthiest recipe but I firmly believe that everyone needs a treat every now and then and a little goes a long way. As well as using it as a cake drizzle, Salted Caramel is great as a sauce with ice-cream or spread over the top of a cheesecake.

Get creative with those loaf cake flavours!

This Latte Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Earl Grey Cake, Cherry and Almond, Lemon DrizzleBlood OrangeLime and CoconutRum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

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Latte Cake with Salted Caramel

Latte Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This easy Latte Cake has a mild coffee flavour and is topped with a salted caramel drizzle.  Inspired by Salted Caramel Lattes in coffee shops everywhere!


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 75 ml milk or cream 
  • 3 teaspoons instant coffee
  • 175 g butter
  • 175 g light brown muscavado sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour

For the icing

  • 125 g butter
  • 125 g icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee
  • 2 teaspoons hot water

For the caramel:

  • 125 g butter
  • 250 g light brown muscavado sugar
  • 125 g double cream
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
  3. Warm the milk or cream to scalding point.  This is when you gently heat it and then stop heating just before it boils.  Add the 3 teaspoons of instant coffee and stir to combine.  Allow to cool slightly while  you get on with the rest of the cake.   
  4. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  5. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  6. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  7. Finally, add the milk or cream and coffee mixture and stir to combine.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven.
  11. Leave the cake in the tin on a cooling rack to cool completely before removing.   
  12. While the cake is cooking, make the icing by mixing  creaming together the butter and icing sugar.    Mix the 2 teaspoons of instant coffee with 2 teaspoons of hot water and then add to the icing mixture.   Stir to combine.   When the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top.
  13.  While the cake is cooking, make the salted caramel by melting the butter in a small pan and then adding the muscavado sugar.  Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.   Add the double cream and continue to heat for another two or three minutes.  Remove from the heat and add salt to taste.   Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the icing.

Keywords: latte, cake, coffee, caramel, salted caramel

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Cherry and Almond Cake

Cherry and Almond Cake – an English teatime classic!

This Cherry and Almond Cake fills me with nostalgia! It is a homemade version of the shop-bought cake that I remember from my childhood and which made a regular appearance at teatime. Even if you don’t have similar memories, there is something particularly traditional about this cake. It is the kind of cake that you would expect to be served on a China plate by your grandmother in front of an open fire with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea.

I love the glossy red glace cherries which look beautiful and give the cake nuggets of juicy sweetness. They may be a bit retro but it’s that kind of cake. I try and use the natural dark red glace cherries rather than the bright red dyed ones.

The combination of cherry and almond flavours is a classic. Almond and cherry trees are both members of the Prunus family and have a strong flavour affinity. Other members of the Prunus family include plums, peaches and nectarines and all these fruit combine well with almonds. In fact, almond extract is often made from the stones of these fruit because they have a stronger almond taste than actual almonds!

This Cherry and Almond Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Salted Caramel Latte Cake, Lemon Drizzle, Blood Orange, Lime and Coconut, Rum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

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Cherry and Almond Cake

Cherry and Almond Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Cherry and Almond Cake is an English classic.   Juicy glace cherries and ground almonds are the perfect teatime flavour combination.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 200 g glace cherries
  • 250 g self-raising flour
  • 225 g salted butter
  • 175 g golden caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 100 g ground almonds
  • 6 tablespoons milk

Cherry and Almond Cake


Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.  Alternatively, use a paper loaf tin liner.
  3. Wash the cherries to remove the stickiness and then cut each one  in half.  Dry with some kitchen roll.
  4. Cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier.)
  5. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  6. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour and the ground almonds.
  7. Add the milk to the mixture.  Then add the cherries.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 1 hour.  It is done when it is golden and springy to the touch.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. 
  11. When the cake is cool, remove it from the tin. 

Keywords: cherry, almond, cake, recipe, homemade

Link-ups

This recipe is linked to Bake Of The Week hosted by Casa Costello and Mummy Mishaps

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Earl Grey Cake

Earl Grey Cake with Orange

This Earl Grey Cake with Orange is easy to make and combines the citrus notes of Earl Grey tea with zesty orange. The tea adds a subtle fragrance to what would otherwise be a basic orange loaf cake. I have added an orange drizzle, using orange juice and icing sugar, to make the cake extra moist and flavoursome. It is topped with a tangy orange-flavoured cream cheese icing which has a mouth-filling richness to complement the fresh tasting cake.

Earl Grey tea is flavoured with the oil of bergamot, a citrus fruit which is thought to be a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange. It is likely that the Earl Grey blend is named after the 2nd Lord Grey who was British Prime Minister in the 1830s and who reputedly received a gift of tea flavoured with bergamot oil.

Last year, we went on a family holiday to Northumberland and visited the Grey family’s beautiful ancestral home, Howick Hall. The Grey family’s story is that Earl Grey tea was specially blended to suit the water at Howick Hall as the use of bergamot offset the taste of the local water which is very alkaline. If you visit the Howick Hall gardens, you can have a cup of Earl Grey tea in the lovely Earl Grey teahouse!

I sometimes make this cake using the less well-known Lady Grey tea, rather than Early Grey tea. Lady Grey tea is a modern invention, created by Twinings in the early 1990s to appeal to those who found Earl Grey tea too strong in flavour. Lady Grey differs from Earl Grey in that it has a stronger citrus taste as it contains additional lemon and orange peel as well as bergamot oil.

This Earl Grey Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for
Salted Caramel Latte Cake, Lemon Drizzle, Blood Orange, Lime and Coconut, Rum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

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Earl Grey Cake with Orange

Earl Grey Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This easy loaf cake combines the citrus notes of Earl Grey or Lady Grey tea with orange.


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 50 ml boiling water
  • 1 Earl Grey or Lady Grey teabag
  • 125 g butter
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • Zest of half an orange
  • 100 g icing sugar
  • Juice of 1 orange

For the icing:

 

  • 150 g butter
  • 50 g icing sugar
  • 200 g cream cheese
  • Zest of half an orange

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Put the boiling water into a small jug or cup and add the Earl Grey or Lady Grey teabag.  Allow the teabag to steep in the water for 5 minutes and then remove it.  The tea will be stronger than you would like to drink!
  3. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
  4. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  5. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  6. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  7. Add the Earl Grey or Lady tea and half the grated zest of your orange.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  10. While the cake is baking, combine the juice from your orange with 100 g of icing sugar to form a thick syrup.
  11. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
  12. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing.   If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.
  13. Make the icing by creaming together the butter and icing sugar.  Then mix in the cream cheese and the other half of your orange zest and stir until smooth and combined.    You can keep a little of the orange zest back to decorate the cake.
  14. When the cake is completely cool, spread the icing on top of it and, if you wish, decorate it with the retained grated orange zest.

Keywords: cake, loaf cake, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, orange, cream cheese icing

This recipe is linked to Cook Blog Share hosted by Everyday Healthy Recipes.

Cook Blog Share

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.