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yoghurt cake with lemon curd

yoghurt cake with lemon curd

A yoghurt cake with lemon curd makes summer berries even more special. We’ve adapted an Ottolenghi recipe increasing the lemons and adding orange blossom water, instead of vanilla. It would sit grandly on a summer lunch table either iced on top with the yoghurt lemon curd or with the zingy mixture served in a bowl alongside.  Scattering some green chopped pistachios on the icing is a welcome crunch too.

The fat content is Zejd’s extra virgin olive oil, which means the ingredients mix easily and quickly- no need to beat butter until it’s mousse-like, and it will also last longer. (Some chance!) As Zejd’s extra virgin olive oil is mild, the flavour doesn’t impinge on the delicate orange blossom water. Besides, baking a cake with extra virgin olive oil seems highly appropriate in the summer. Being enriched with almonds and yoghurt, it’s denser than a traditional sponge cake, and the Lebanese orange blossom water adds summery floral notes too. It makes a fair amount of lemon curd which will keep in the fridge for 5 days, and is delicious with scones.  

serves 8-10 

ingredients

For the curd
4 lemons, 3 grated for zest and 140ml of juice
3 eggs, plus 2 yolks (freeze the whites for macarons)
175g golden caster sugar
1/8 tsp salt
120g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes, fridge cold

For the cake
140g plain flour
70g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
200g golden caster sugar
1 lemon zest grated
2 tablespoons good quality orange blossom water
1/2 tsp salt
230g greek yoghurt
3 eggs
125 ml Zejd extra virgin olive oil
15g pistachios, unsalted and chopped.

method

  1. For the curd, put the lemon juice, zest, eggs, yolks, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine and put on a gentle heat. Stir for 10 minutes or so, until the mixture thickens, coating the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, add the butter, and mix well.   
  2. Put a sieve over a bowl and sieve the curd to remove any remaining zest or threads from the eggs. Set aside to cool. Then leave in the fridge for an hour. 
  3. Line a standard loaf tin (20x7cm) with parchment paper with 2 cm overhang on the sides. 
  4. Put the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a bowl and mix well. In a small bowl mix 80g of the yoghurt, eggs, oil, and the orange blossom water until smooth.  Pour this into the flour mixture, and fold gently, not to over-mix. 
  5. Pour the batter into the tin, and bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and while warm remove from the tin to cool on a baking tray. 
  6. For the icing, put the remaining yoghurt in a small bowl with 150g of the lemon curd. Mix and refrigerate until needed. 

Either cover the top of the cake with the yoghurt curd and scatter the chopped pistachios, or serve the curd alongside in a bowl. Delicious with strawberries. 

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