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SWEET CICELY CAKE

Sweet cicely might seem an unusual ingredient for a cake, but this herb is a natural sweetener, so you don’t need sugar, and pairing it with star anise highlights its aniseed flavour. The leaves also add a wonderful colour to baking, so slice this cake in front of friends to show off the vibrant green in each piece and serve with a dollop of the creamy aniseed buttercream.

SERVES 10

Sweet cicely cake

200ml whole milk

2 medium eggs

400g runny honey

80g sweet cicely leaves

440g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground star anise or 5–6 whole star anise, ground

Star anise buttercream

80g unsalted butter, softened

135g cream cheese

2 star anise, ground

150g icing sugar, sifted

juice of ¼ lemon

Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas Mark 5 and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment.

To make the cake, blitz the milk, eggs, honey and sweet cicely leaves in a blender until the mixture is bright green and smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder and ground star anise into a bowl. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, transfer to the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave to cool in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the buttercream icing, cream the butter and the cream cheese together in a stand mixer until stiff, light and fluffy. Add three-quarters of the ground star anise and mix well to combine. Turn the speed down to low and gradually add the icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Remove from the machine and fold the lemon juice into the mixture. Transfer to the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

Put slices of the cake on plates with star anise buttercream, sprinkled with some of the remaining ground star anise.