Blackberry, Rose and Citrus Loaf with Labneh
Introduction
You can swap the rose water for orange blossom and the blackberries can be changed to any berry of your choice. Regardless of any tweaks you may make, this is a beautifully balanced bake.
The frosting adds an element of interest, and makes for a lovely change from a traditional buttercream.
Labneh is strained or hung yoghurt where most of the whey is drained off so you are left with a yoghurt that has a far thicker consistency while still retaining that gorgeous tang. It is available at all good grocers or you can simply make it yourself. Line a sieve with a muslin cloth and sit it over a large bowl. Spoon the yoghurt onto the muslin and allow to sit in the fridge overnight to drain.
Serves: 8
Ingredients
170 g (6 oz) caster (superfine granulated) sugar
2 tsp rose water
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla paste
3 eggs
90 g (3¼ oz) self-raising flour
½ tsp flaky salt
120 g (4¼ oz) ground almonds
200 g (7 oz) blackberries, plus 50 g (1¾ oz) extra to garnish
Labneh Frosting
250 g (9 oz) labneh
100 g (3½ oz) icing sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan-bake. Grease and line a 11 cm x 21 cm (4¼ in x 8¼ in) loaf tin.
Beat the butter, sugar, rose water, zests and vanilla for 3–4 minutes until pale and thick.
Add the eggs one by one, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don’t worry if the batter looks split at this point, it will come back together.
Working by hand now, gently fold through the flour, salt and ground almonds, then fold through the blackberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40–50 minutes or until the centre springs back when lightly pressed.
Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Labneh Frosting, combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth and combined.
Recipe from the book Butter, Butter by Petra Galler
Published by Allen & Unwin NZ NZRRP $49.99