Summer Summer Summmerrrr thyme. See what I did there? I know….
So it’s been a while! But we are back and rolling now. And today’s recipe makes me smile. Just look at the colours here. I’m also curious to see if this baby works as mini cakes? Hmmm.
So it’s hot here in Florida. I know you’re shocked. However with the heat the rain also comes. And today not only did it rain, but it poured. Non stop. So missing my sunshine I decided to take charge and invent my own. And as you can probably tell I’m pretty pleased with the result. This sweet sour combination of elegance did the trick just nicely. I love everything to do with Lemons and my constant supply came in handy today. A sticky layer of sugar cutting sour lemons to top a thick rich sponge. I adore the combination of lemon and thyme and think it adds a different element to the cake, but just plain lemon would be just as good for those not too sure about adding herbs to a cake!
So, in true Lianne style I made it up as I went along and was pretty happy with the results.
This recipe really was very easy. And made one 6 inch sponge. I really do recommend a spring form pan for this, just to make your life easier when removing the cake. Other than that its a doddle. Give it a go!
Recipe:
The top
Ok lemons. I used 2 sliced thin – though I did wind up with gaps on top so you may want to use more. And please pop out any pips at this stage.
Earth balance- or some form of plant based spread.
2 tbs Organic Sugar.
Start by greasing the tin pretty liberally with the spread. Then use 1 tbs of sugar to coat the inside of the tin (if it take a little more then just go for it). Place your thinly sliced lemons on top of the sugar, creating one pretty little layer. Then go in with the second table spoon of sugar to recoat the lemons. Leave to one side to sit.
The sponge :
Wet:
1 Cup Almond Milk
1 tsp Apple Cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Vanilla paste
1/3 Cup Oil I used Olive
3/4 Cup Sugar
Dry:
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tbs Corn Flour
1Tbs chopped Thyme
1 Lemon – zest only
1/4 Tsp Salt
Topping :
Marmalade.
Pop the almond milk and ACV in a bowl and add the vanilla paste too, give this a little whisk then set aside.
Measure out all your dry ingredients into a larger bowl and give this a dry whisk too to make sure everything is mixed nicely.
Go back to your wet ingredients and add your oil and sugar and give another little whisk.
Pour your wet ingredients into your dry and fold gently until it’s just say mixed. The mixture is quite thin, don’t panic about a few little lumps. Pour this ontop of your pretty lemon layer and bake for appx 35-40 minutes. Or until a skewer comes out clean..
Now for the fun part. Turning the cake out. The cake needs to still be very warm for this. Pop a cooling rack over the top of cake and turn. Undo the spring on the pan. Then for the top using a knife or spatula remove the bottom of the cake tin.
A final adornment of that shiny elegant topping would be to heat some marmalade gently and brush onto of the lemon layer. A sprig or two of fresh thyme on top or around the cake always looks good too.
And now that the cake is ready, I advise you stick the kettle on!
Enjoy !
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