Blueberry and lemon tray bake

This delicious cake is a lovely twist on the lemon drizzle that seems to be a favourite in our family.  The original recipe, from the Tesco magazine, included thyme in the cake and maple syrup was added to the topping.  I used thyme in my first attempt and it was a nice addition however I wouldn't say it was a necessity.  I also used half the amount of topping that was in the original recipe (minus the maple syrup) - it just seemed far too much and even cutting the quantity by half gave me some left overs which are absolutely gorgeous mixed with flavoured or natural Greek yogurt.

The tray bake serves 12





200g unsalted butter or baking margarine
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
200g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp thyme leaves (if using)
50g ground almonds
75g Greek natural yogurt

250g blueberries
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour

50g unsalted butter or baking margarine
100g icing sugar

Set oven to gas 4, 180 deg. C (160 deg C fan oven), grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with nonstick baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter/margarine and caster sugar with a wooden spoon until soft and combined, then add the eggs, one at a time, together with 1 tbsp of self raising flour per egg, beating well.  Using a metal spoon carefully fold in the remaining flour and baking powder then stir in the lemon zest (and thyme if using), lemon juice, almonds and yogurt, ensuring ingredients are well mixed.  Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 60-75 minutes until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the tin on a wire try for about 10 minutes and then poke holes in the top of the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon ensuring you go about 1/2 to 3/4 deep into the cake each time.

Whilst the cake is baking add the blueberries, lemon juice and caster sugar to a pan and gently bring it to a simmer, partly covered, and cook for 4 minutes.  Mix a little water with the cornflour, stir to make a runny paste and add to the pan cooking for a further 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool. When ready, spoon about 3/4 the blueberry mix over the cake, making sure the mix runs into the holes.  Leave the cake in the tin and cool for a further hour, then remove from the tin to continue to cool completely.

Beat the butter/margarine and sifted icing sugar together and carefully spread this over the top of the cake.  At this stage you can add the remaining 1/4 blueberry mix, if you feel you need to, otherwise keep it in the fridge and use to mix with natural or flavoured yogurt.

Carefully cut the cake equally into 12 squares.