Now this might sound bizarre but bear with me, whilst I appreciate that the idea of using rosemary in baking might sound bizarre, in this instance it really works, and though the cake doesn’t exactly taste of rosemary, the herb adds a peppery piquancy that is entirely welcome.
Pay attention to the quantity of rosemary used here, I find that when used over zealously and when chopped too finely or even, heaven forbid, when ground finely can taste soapy. So although the quantity of rosemary used may seem scant, it is just enough to add a herbal zing without a carbolic tang.
Though the inspiration for this dish came in the form of a loaf cake, I prefer to make this as a slab cake, for a few reasons, firstly it is easier to cook through, and you’ll have no issues of doughy, raw centres, especially useful when your oven is being temperamental, as mine often is. Secondly it keeps better, and you can even freeze it, as this cake defrosts well. My mother recently introduced me to the slab cake, and I have become rather taken by the concept, so expect to see more on here in the future.
Preheat the oven to 170C and line a square slab tin. Cream the butter and the sugar, and then beat in the eggs each with a spoonful of flour. After this has combined add the rest of the flour and fold it in, adding the chopped rosemary. Scrape into the lined slab tin, sprinkle over the sugar and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool before removing from the tin.
ingredients
250g butter
200g brown sugar
3 eggs
210g self-raising flour
90g plain flour
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary leaves
4 tbsps milk approx
extra caster sugar
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