Ingredients
200ml whole milk
150g ricotta
4 Limes (zest finely grated, to get 2½ tbsp, then juiced, to get 3½ tbsp)
300g flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
350g caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp extra for sprinkling
75g Basil leaves, roughly chopped
3 large eggs
225ml good-quality olive oil, plus extra for greasing

For the glaze
100g icing sugar
½ tsp good-quality olive oil
25g basil leaves, roughly chopped, plus a few whole leaves for decorating

Preparations

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/375F/gas 5. Grease a 24cm bundt tin. In a jug, whisk the milk, ricotta and two tablespoons of lime juice. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarb into a medium bowl.

Put the caster sugar, chopped basil leaves and two tablespoons of lime zest into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the basil is finely chopped. In a free-standing mixer with the whisk attachment in place, beat the eggs and basil leaf sugar on high speed until thick, pale and creamy – about three minutes. Turn the speed down to medium-low and drizzle in the oil in a slow, steady stream, until fully incorporated and homogeneous – about a minute. Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment and, with the speed on medium-low, add the flour and milk mixtures in three increments, starting and ending with the flour. Combine until just incorporated, taking care not to over-mix.

Pour the batter into the bundt tin, smooth the top with the back of a spoon and sprinkle over the last two tablespoons of sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a rack to cool completely.

For the glaze, put the icing sugar and basil leaves into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the leaves are very finely chopped. Add the oil and remaining tablespoon and a half of lime juice, and blitz again until smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze all over the cake, letting some of it run down the sides. Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon and a half of zest and top with a few basil leaves.

Note! We like to make our own recipes, but we also like to adapt existing recipes and add extra fresh herbs. View the original recipe of Yotam Ottolenghis, Amalfi lemon, bay leaf and olive oil cake, here.

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