Summer Fruits Drizzle Loaf Cake

 A true taste of Summer, this loaf cake is a really lovely vegan staple. Use fresh or frozen summer fruits (strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blueberries and blackberries work well in any combination). Some extra fresh strawberries or raspberries will look beautiful on top as a decoration. For the vegan margarine, choose a baking block, the more solid kind usually wrapped in foil work better than the softer fats that come in tubs.

Ingredients

For the cake:

150g vegan baking margarine 

170g caster sugar

150g soya yoghurt 

150ml soya milk 

300g self-raising flour

1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g mixed summer fruits

For the drizzle:

150g mixed summer fruits (fresh or frozen)

3 tbs lemon juice

50g caster sugar

100ml water

For the topping:

75g fresh or frozen summer fruits

Handful of fresh berries (such as strawberries)

Equipment:

Large mixing bowl

Silicone-headed spatula

measuring spoons

Tala loaf liner

Tala Performance 2lb loaf tin

Small saucepan

Wooden spoon

Potato masher

Metal sieve

Small mixing bowl

Drinking straw

Kebab stick

Cake carrier

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius fan (302 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. Place a loaf liner inside the loaf tin.
3. Cream the baking margarine and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then add the soya yoghurt and soya milk and mix again.
4. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda, stirring until smooth and then fold in the summer fruits.
5. Bake for about an hour and twenty minutes until the top of the cake is golden and risen.
6. While the cake is baking, prepare the drizzle by placing the summer fruits, lemon juice, sugar and water in the small saucepan over a low heat.
7. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil until the sugar has dissolved and mash the fruit roughly.
8. Strain the fruit and liquid into the small mixing bowl and push the fruit through the sieve with the wooden spoon as much as possible. Discard the leftover skin and pips.
9. The cake will be ready when it springs back to the touch. Remove from the oven, place on a heat-proof surface and, leaving the still-warm cake in the tin, poke about 8-10 holes in it with a drinking straw. Prick a few more holes with the kebab stick (so that you have a mixture of small and larger holes over the surface of the cake. This will help the drizzle soak all the way in.)
10. Keep 2-3 tablespoons of drizzle to one side and spoon the rest of the syrup all over the surface of the cake (still in its tin), stopping now and then to let it sink in.
11. Allow the cake to cool, then invert over a cake plate or the base of a cake carrier and peel off the paper liner.
12. Arrange the summer fruit on the top and drizzle the remaining summer fruits drizzle over the top of the fruit. Serve as soon as possible.