LEMON & CHAMOMILE CAKE

So this is the new year and in new years people have resolutions; and if people with resolutions had a baking blog they would write about them there, in something that I believe would be titled - '2016 - An Introduction', and it would be something very pragmatic and possibly involving detox diets or buying a house or life rebuilding, or something.
I will blame my lack of vitamin B(1)2 that, Wikipedia informs me, caters for paleness and neurological issues, and having watched one Rob Zombie film too many over the holidays, and chocolate overdoses, and being not invisible for once, or twice, and hamster cheeks; but I'm afraid I have no resolution. What I do have, is a recipe for a lemon & chamomile cake that is as oh so pretty & oh so nice as a hairdresser named Manuel from a posh town in Northern Italy; bless his heart; as well as this worrying feeling at the back of my head that this year is going to be an absolute duckin' mess just like its younger brother, and in fact all its siblings; but did I mention I have a recipe for cake; and that means that I may or may not be willing to spend a stupid amount of euros on a toothbrush or mindlessly start humming a song that goes, if a body catch a body comin' through the Rye If a body kiss a body, need a body cry on my way back to the Orphanage and book flights to actual Iceland this time and even glimpse several different futures ahead, in the distance, or find myself looking up and hoping for the best; because did I mention, lemon chamomile cake. I think I did, therefore, hi 2016, and Happy New Year everyone; everything will be fine.

LEMON & CHAMOMILE CAKE

100g (3/4 cup) almonds

the tea leaves from two bags of chamomile tea

100g (1/3 cup) unrefined golden caster sugar

zest of 1 lemon

250g (2 cups) plain flour

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ teaspoon salt

220g (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) soya yoghurt or other non-dairy yoghurt

200ml (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) soya milk or other non-dairy milk

2 tablespoons sunflower oil or other flavourless oil

¼ teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) and lightly grease a 20cm/8" cake tin.
In a blender, blitz together almonds, chamomile leaves, sugar and lemon zest until the almonds are finely ground. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and salt and combine with the almond mixture. In another bowl, mix together yoghurt, milk, oil and lemon extract. Mix the liquid ingredients with the dry and pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Place on a rack until completely cool, then dust with icing sugar and top with chamomile flowers.