Cranberry and almond loaf

Scrumptious is the word I would use to describe this cake. It is rich and buttery but not heavy or stodgy, and the lemon and almond give subtle but distinctive flavour overtones. Cranberries are one of my favourite dried fruits because although they are sweetened they still have lots of tang. The cake keeps well and is also a winning addition to school lunchoxes as a treat. It’s also delicious served warm for dessert with a scoop of vanilla icecream on the side.

125g butter
185g caster sugar
grated zest of 1 large lemon
3 eggs
150g greek yoghurt
60g almond meal
185g self raising flour
100g sweetened dried cranberries (craisins)

Preheat oven to 150C. Grease and line a 25cm x 11cm loaf tin with silicon paper. Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined. Fold in the remaining ingredients – yoghurt, almond meal, flour and cranberries. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface with a spatula. Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, or until the cake leaves the edges of tin and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Eat while warm or cool. Keeps for three days in an airtight container and also freezes well.