We always have a stash of berries in the freezer. It’s usually a lot cheaper than fresh – and often more nutritious, not deteriorating on the supermarket shelves over time. And it means you can get hold of them all year round. It’s usually blueberries from Morrisons, only £2 for a 350 gram container. Sometimes it’s strawberries from Lidl.
I bought a container of fresh cranberries at Christmas when they were on offer, and put them straight into the freezer with the intention of doing something with them at a later date. The first thing I did was to use some of them in a smoothie. I thought the smoothie was quite tasty but after the first sip, Justin pulled a face like he’d just sucked on a lemon!
My second cranberry endeavour has been much more successful. I made a banana blueberry cranberry buttermilk cake. ‘Tasty. More an afternoon cake with a cup of tea, than a dessert cake.’, was the verdict. I think that meant he approved!
Banana, blueberry & cranberry buttermilk cake
Ingredients
- 115 g butter softened
- 250 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60 ml buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼tsp bicarbonate of soda
- pinch tsp salt
- 3 bananas
- 100 g blueberries
- 50 g cranberries I used frozen blueberries & cranberries, but you can use fresh if it's in season
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- In a food processor, using the K-beater attachment, cream the butter & caster sugar until fluffy
- In a small measuring jug, lightly beat the eggs, before adding them to the butter & sugar, a little at a time, mixing after each addition
- Mix in the buttermilk and vanilla extract
- In another medium-sized mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together - flour, baking powder, bicarb & salt
- Add the dry to the wet mixture in 3 stages, mixing after each addition
- Roughly slice the bananas and mix into the batter
- With a spatula, fold in the blueberries and cranberries
- Pour the batter into a greased 23cm/9inch loose-based deep sandwich cake tin and make level with the spatula
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes away clean
- Leave in the tin for 5 minutes before running a sharp knife around the inside circumference of the tin and easing it away
- Allow to cool on a wire rack
