Lemon, Lime & Honey Afternoon Tea Loaf
I have made this loaf three times in the past week. It is quick to make, with a delightful sweet and tart play of flavours. In the recipe, I use olive oil as it is less rich textured than butter. It does mellow with the accompanying strong citrus notes, however, if you find it too much in sweet recipes, use a neutral tasting oil such as grape seed or rice bran oil.
Ingredients
- ½ cup 125ml olive oil
- 3 tablespoons mild honey or ¼ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- Juice of 1 lemon about 3 tablespoons
- Juice of 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
- Finely grated zest of lemon and lime each
- 1 cup almond flour meal or ground almonds
- ¾ cup standard flour or white spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Citrus syrup
- Juice of 1 lime and lemon each about ¼ cup total
- 1 tablespoon mild honey
- Edible flowers such as blue borage and violet to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease a 10 x 20cm loaf tin.
- Place the olive oil, honey, eggs, and lemon and lime juice and zest in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and fold together. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Place the tin on a cooling rack and use a small sharp knife to pierce the loaf six times – I do this in line with the cracks so not to disfigure the top of the loaf too much.
- Prepare the syrup: place the lime and lemon juice and honey in a small saucepan. Heat gently, mixing just until the honey dissolves then drizzle evenly over the hot loaf. Once the loaf is only warm, lift from the tin and cool completely. Decorate with borage and violet flowers – both of which are bee-friendly flowers to plant in the garden. This wonderfully moist loaf will keep well for two to three days in a container in the pantry.