Helen Goh’s recipe for lemon pistachio snacking cake

A good snacking cake earns its place not through grandeur but through reliability. It sits patiently on the counter, improves with a day’s rest and can be sliced at odd hours: with coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon or something stronger during a tense World Cup match.

This lemon and pistachio version is especially companionable: tender, bright and just sharp enough to keep things lively. For the cake: 220g unsalted butter, 2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil, 200g plain flour, ¼ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp fine sea salt, 250g caster sugar, 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (from 2 large unwaxed lemons), 80ml lemon juice, 3 eggs, at room temperature.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang on the sides. Put the butter in a small saucepan on a low heat, then, once melted, add the oil and leave to cool slightly. In a small bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

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