Lemon verbena cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 5 sprigs lemon verbena, fresh (or 2 tsp dried)
• 200 ml water, boiling
• 200 g butter, soft
• 150 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100 g flour (e.g. spelt)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200 g rice
• 100 g powdered sugar
• Fat and flour for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

heavenly fragrant cake with lemon verbena

First, strip the lemon verbena leaves from the stems. Place the leaves in a measuring jug and pour over 200 ml of boiling water. Set aside and let cool. Grease and flour a loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). Grind the rice with a mill or grind it into a powder in a food processor. It’s okay if tiny pieces remain; this gives the cake a special texture. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix with the ground rice. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in a tablespoon of the flour mixture with each egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Carefully stir in the remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Drain the lemon verbena liquid and stir 100 ml into the batter. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth it out. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes. Shortly before the end of the baking time, dissolve the powdered sugar in the remaining lemon verbena mixture. Remove the cake from the oven as soon as it’s fully baked. Immediately pierce all over with a toothpick, but not all the way to the bottom. Spoon over half of the syrup. After 10 minutes, drizzle the remaining syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool in the pan. Serve once cooled. Tip: If you like, you can sprinkle the cake with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of dried lemon verbena, finely ground in a blender, before serving.