This week I'm finishing up my series on thyme with a lovely little cake that's not too sweet nor too savory--making it a perfect fit in-between my sweet and savory recipes from last week and the week before.
If you're wondering about thyme itself, as a magical and healing herb, check the first post of this series of three where I'm cooking with thyme.
This recipe originally comes from Seasons and Suppers, with a few alterations to make the recipe a bit more simple.
Ingredients: - 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted - 1 cup all-purpose flour plus more for dusting - 1 1/3 cups white granulated sugar - 2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest from about 2 lemons - 2 large eggs - 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil - 2/3 cup whole milk - 1/2 tsp. baking powder - 1/2 tsp. fine salt - 1 tsp. finely minced fresh thyme plus sprigs for garnish
(For the Glaze) - 1 1/2 cups confectioners'/icing sugar - 3 1/2 to 4 Tbsp. lemon juice from 1 to 2 lemons
Directions:
First, preheat oven to 350° F. with rack in centre of oven. Prepare a metal or silicone mini cake/bundt or muffin pan. For a tin pan, brush with melted butter and dust with flour and shake out the excess. This will keep it from sticking to the pan.
Quickly and thoroughly mix the granulated sugar and lemon zest until combined (you may want to get out an electric mixer for the rest of this). Add the eggs one at a time, then gradually pour in the olive oil and milk, until it becomes a thin batter. Don't over-blend though, or the cakes will be too puffy. Less air, more blend.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 tsp. thyme. Add this flour mixture to the other bowl, gradually, until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan to no more than 2/3 full (as they will rise). Bake until the cakes just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and spring back when lightly touched, about 28 to 30 minutes for a 6-cup bundt pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a small knife and invert the cakes onto a rack.
Meanwhile, you can prepare the glaze. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth, adding more lemon juice if the mixture is too thick. Drizzle over the warm cakes and garnish with thyme sprigs. I also added candied lemon slices and some dried lemon and thyme.
