Lemon thyme cake by Nigella Lawson
This super delicious lemon thyme cake has all the best of lemon, combined with some slight herby flavor from the thyme. It’s easy to make and will be a winner at your table.
Lemon thyme cake
Many things have been said about Nigella in the recent past but quite frankly I don’t care about all the gossip. I was rather curious when I heard she had a new book out with the title ‘Simply Nigella’.
I love Nigella for her food philosophy and had to laugh when I read the foreword. She has a very outspoken idea about the hip term of ‘clean’ food…
Simply Nigella
Before I got the book in my hands I was a little afraid it would be another of those healthy ones. And I do think it is a little less decadent than her previous books, but certainly nothing to do with the health food hype. Which – all in the name of balance – is a good thing. You don’t buy a cookbook by Nigella because you want to start eating gluten free right?
Sticky notes
I kept putting little sticky notes between the pages when going through the book. So many recipes I want to try out! I’ve already made three in the last week and this one is totally delicious.
The book is filled with sensible weekday meals and one of my favorite chapters is the one with slow cooker recipes. I’ve made one but will share that with you later.
Today is all about this delicious lemon thyme cake. For me also the perfect moment to try out my new mini bundt tins. Doesn’t it look pretty? It’s no secret I love bundt cakes. The shape is all on its own, already festive. So in this season it is perfect for baking!
The lemon flavor is delicious and always one of my favorites really. Throw in lemon and I’m happy (well within reason of course)
How to make the lemon thyme cake
Making the lemon thyme cake is pretty straightforward. It uses buttermilk and I love the texture you get when using buttermilk. If you are a hater of this kind of milk, rest assured you will not taste it in the end product. It merely makes sure the cake becomes light and fluffy.
How do you get a lemon flavor into a cake?
In this particular instance the recipe is already adapted to get a lemon flavor in. You merely squeeze one lemon and add the zest of both into the batter. Now if you have a normal cake recipe you want to add lemon to? The safest way to do this is by adding the zest. I love lemon zest and it has much more lemon flavor then the juice. Minus the liquid, so perfect if you want add the flavor but don’t want to add more liquid.
Can you leave the thyme out?
If you’re not a fan of thyme you can easily leave this out. Or go wild and replace the thyme with chopped rosemary leaves. Be aware though that rosemary is a stronger flavor so use with caution.
Which icing flavor goes well with the lemon thyme cake?
For the icing I tend to keep it simple and use lemon juice to make the icing. But this would also work really well with orange juice. In that case you use orange juice for the icing instead of the lemon juice. I don’t add all the juice at once. I keep adding it a spoon at the time and make sure to stir it through thoroughly before adding the next. That way you have more control over the final thickness of the icing.
Lemon thyme cake
Equipment
- Bundt pan 2,5 liters 10 cups
Ingredients
- 200 gram unsalted butter at roomtemperature
- 250 gram sugar
- 450 gram flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 lemons juice of one, zest of two
- bunch of thyme leaves only
- 250 ml buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 120 gr icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170˚C. (350˚F)
- Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder together and mix well. Remove the leaves from the thyme until you have approx 3 tbsp full and chop them a bit. It looks like a lot but the flavor is quite subtle.
- Put the butter into a mixing bowl and mix it till light an creamy. Add sugar and mix well. Add the eggs one by one and turn the speed of the mixer down after the last egg.
- Now add 1/3 of yr flourmixture and 1/3 of the buttermilk, and repeat until finished. Add the juice of 1 lemon at the end of this. Spoon the thyme leaves through it.
- Grease your bundt cake well. I tend to use melted butter and sprinkle the tin with flour. Tap the excess flour out of the tin and than ad the batter. Smooth the top and put into the oven for around 1 hr and 15 minutes but check after an hour if the inside is cooked. I’ve used a smaller bundt tin so I needed only 30-35 minutes. Again..checking is important.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool for at least 5 minutes (15 is better) before taking it out. Leave to cool completely before adding the icing.
- Make the icing by putting the icing sugar into a bowl and add some lemonjuice until it has the desired consistency.
Nutrition Information
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
I love that Nigellia isn’t all into clean eating! This cake looks great, especially the addition of thyme is very interesting.
Thanks! And yes I agree on the whole clean eating thing..:)
How gorgeous this looks. I love Nigella too regardless of what people say about her. Balance is good and I enjoy her recipes. I am curious about this book now I have to admit – maybe Santa will bring it too me. Although I think I might have a ban on new cookbooks LOL! Lovely shots!
Thanks Meeta! Ha! I know what you mean with cookbook ban. I have way too many already but can’t resist! I do love the recipes in this one ..:)
I’ve only made 2 or 3 of Nigella’s recipes for some reason. But I’ve liked what I’ve made. This looks great — and I’m a real lemon freak, so this has my name on it! And lemon and thyme combine so well, don’t they? Good stuff — thanks.
Totally agree John! Match made in heaven!
Oh wow Simone! This cake looks absolutely decadent. It alone is making me want to head out lickety split and buy Nigella’s cookbook.
In the lemon and thyme cake, nigella says flour but plain or self raising. Any one know please
He Ruth. It’s plain flour. If you see things like baking soda and baking powder mentioned as well you can be sure it is plain flour. Self raising would have that already incorporated.
Simone, your lemon thyme cake is so pretty I had to make a dollhouse miniature cake from the inspiration! And this weekend, I will make the real deal! thanks for being my muse for the afternoon 🙂
O thanks so much Tracey! Hope the real one tasted good! (it’s one of my favorite recipes!)
Is it dry thyme or fresh that you use?
He Ellen, I used fresh thyme in this cake