Cooking notes

• Rosemary cake is a fragrant and light afternoon cake – easy to put together with minimal ingredients!

• This is a take on Nigella Lawson’s recipe in Feast, for a beautiful golden bake.

• Makes approx. 10 slices.

Ingredients

• 180 gm apple (approx. 1 apple)

• 2 sprigs rosemary (1 small and 1 long)

• 1 tsp caster sugar (I used cane sugar)

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 tsp butter

For the cake batter:

• 225 gm unsalted butter

• 150 gm caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp (I used raw cane sugar)

• 3 eggs

• 300 gm plain flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Peel, core and roughly chop the apple and put into a saucepan with the small sprig of rosemary, the teaspoon of sugar, the lemon zest and juice, and the teaspoon of butter.

2. Cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 4-8 minutes until the apple is soft. Leave to cool, and fish out the rosemary sprig.

3. Preheat the oven to 170°C, and oil the inside of a loaf tin.

4. Put the cooled apple into a food processor and blitz to a pulp. Then add the butter, 150 gm of sugar, eggs, flour, and baking powder and process to a smooth batter.

5. Spoon and scrape into the loaf tin and smooth the top. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and then lay the long sprig of rosemary along the centre of the cake. On baking, the rosemary sheds its oil to leave a scented path down the middle.

6. Bake the cake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean, then leave to cool on a rack. Enjoy with your afternoon tea!