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1
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
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2
Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly.
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3
They should be so thin that you are almost able to see through them.
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4
If you tend to work slowly, put the sliced potatoes into a bowl of cold water to prevent them browning.
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5
Melt the butter, then brush some of it on to the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (or use a round cake pan, if that is what you have).
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6
Cover with a piece of wax paper, leaving a little extra overlapping the sides to get hold of when you come to turn out the cake.
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7
Cover the bottom of the pan with slices of potato, brush with more butter, and season with salt, pepper, and a light sprinkling of thyme leaves.
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8
Continue layering the potatoes, adding the butter and seasonings every two or three layers, until you have used them all up.
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9
Pour any remaining butter over the top.
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10
Bake for forty to fifty minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer can be inserted effortlessly into the layers of tender potato.
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11
To serve, lift the potato cake out by holding both long sides of the wax paper and pulling upward.
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12
Cut into six pieces.
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13
If it falls apart, and well it might, just push the slices back together.
