Raspberry, lemon and yogurt cake recipe

This light, fluffy and very moreish raspberry and yogurt cake has its origins in Yeo Valley's tea rooms. Their whole milk natural yogurt is, of course, my first choice for this recipe (when I find it on offer, I also use their butter).

Try this cake while it is still warm, with a dollop of clotted cream and you'll love it - guaranteed!!

I've left their original recipe pretty much untouched, other than adding a few extra raspberries to the drizzle and reducing the amount of sugar used for the cake's 'frosting'.

You'll need a 2 lb loaf tin and, ideally, a suitably sized pre-formed non-stick liner (otherwise use non-stick baking parchment).

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC or gas mark 4.

Ingredients:

115g softened unsalted butter
225g golden caster sugar
2 large free range eggs

250g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
grated rind of one lemon (juice reserved for 'frosting')
25g ground almonds

100g whole milk natural yogurt (Yeo Valley's if you can find it)

250g raspberries (200g to add to the cake mixture, plus 50g for the frosting)

50g granulated sugar (plus the reserved lemon juice and raspberries)

Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar - as this is a relatively low fat to sugar ratio, 'putting some welly' into this early stage will really pay dividends (a hand held electric beater is ideal for this). Then beat in the first egg - again, beat the egg in thoroughly to achieve a really pale, light mixture.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the ground almonds and lemon zest. Add a heaped tablespoon of this flour mix to the batter along with the second egg and beat until thoroughly combined.

Now tip in the remaining flour mix and add the yogurt. Combine using a light folding action.

Spread around one third of this mix into the bottom of the prepared cake tin, and dot 75g of the raspberries on top, add another third of the mix, smooth this evenly and scatter over another 75g of raspberries (I use the raspberries to level the mixture). Finally add the remaining cake mix and the remaining 50g of raspberries, pressing them lightly into the surface.

Pop into the oven and bake for 45 minutes, by which time it should have risen to near the top of the loaf tin and have a well browned surface. Turn the cake through 180º and continue baking for a further 25 minutes. To stop it over-browning, at this stage, cover with either baking parchment or foil  (or place a cold baking sheet on a shelf above the cake). After a total cooking time of around 70 minutes, check that it is baked - it should feel firm when the surface is lightly pressed; if not, return to the oven for a further 5/10 minutes (without the protective foil).

Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the glaze/frosting: in a small pan, gently heat the reserved lemon juice, raspberries and 50g granulated sugar. Stir gently and once the sugar is disolved, crush the raspberries against the side of the pan. Strain this glaze over the cake and, after a further 5 minutes, remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm, with clotted cream as a dessert, or store in an airtight tin and enjoy a slice (with clotted cream if you have some left!) with an espresso or for afternoon tea.