Cakes & Bakes: Lemon and blueberry drizzle cake

This is a classic flavour combination that I’ve never attempted in this form; it’s a lemon and blueberry drizzle cake.

We usually have a bag of blueberries stored in the freezer; in the winter, we love a bowl of blueberry porridge for breakfast and in the summer we love them in a refreshing smoothie. Just make sure that they’re defrosted before they go into the batter otherwise they may affect how well the cake cooks in the middle.

The resulting cake is sweet, moist and delicious; made even more moist with the addition after baking of the lemon syrup.

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Lemon and blueberry drizzle cake

2020-02-13 10:08:25

Serves 10

Cook Time

40 min

Cook Time

40 min

Ingredients

175g/6oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
175g/6oz caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons, and juice of 1
3 eggs
175g/6oz plain flour
1tsp baking powder
150g/5¼oz blueberries
3tbsps granulated sugar

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4
Grease a 20cm/8" round cake tin and line with baking parchment or cake tin liner
Beat the butter and caster sugar with an electric whisk/stand mixer for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, then beat in the zest of 1 lemon
Beat the eggs together in a jug with a fork, then slowly mix into the batter, adding a spoonful of flour if the mixture starts to curdle
Sift together the flour and baking powder before folding into the mixture until just smooth
Spoon a thin layer (about 1cm deep) of the mixture into the tin
Set aside a handful of the blueberries, then fold the rest into the remaining cake mixture and spoon into the tin
Scatter the reserved berries on top
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
Cover it loosely with foil if it starts to brown too much on top
As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, pierce the top all over with a skewer
Mix the lemon juice and remaining zest with the granulated sugar and spoon all over the top
Cool completely in the tin before removing and serving

Notes

This cake can also be made in a 900g/2lb loaf tin. Bake for 1 hour, covering loosely with foil after 45 minutes if it begins to brown too much on the top

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Home-made blueberry ice cream

I always like to have a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer. I often use them in porridge, over pancakes and in smoothies. Today, I used them to make blueberry ice cream.

I used the basic vanilla ice cream recipe that I posted some time ago – simply adding a little blueberry sauce that I made beforehand.

The colourful blueberries made a pretty ‘ripple’ effect through the pale ice cream. That evening, we each had a couple of scoops topped with little Amaretti di Saronno biscuits – a perfect pairing!

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Blueberry ice cream

2019-02-13 11:12:42

Serves 8

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

40 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

40 min

Ingredients

75g/2⅔oz/½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
25g/¾oz/⅛ cup caster sugar
180ml/6 fl oz/¾ cup whole milk, well chilled
140g/5oz/⅔ cup granulated sugar
300ml/10½ fl oz/1½ cups heavy (double) cream, well chilled
1tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract), to taste

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Instructions

In a small saucepan warm the blueberries and caster sugar over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved, there's a little bit of syrup and the bluberries have just begun to pop out of their skins
Set aside and allow to cool completely (put it into the fridge if necessary)
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (about 1 to 2 minutes on a low speed)
Stir in the cream and vanilla to taste
Turn the machine on, pour the cream mixture into the freezer bowl, and mix until thickened (about 20-25 minutes). The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture
Decant into a lidded freezer container, pour over the cooled blueberry sauce and fold in gently through the ice cream using a spatula

Notes

Once churned and spooned out into a lidded container, put it into the freezer until firm. It takes about 2 hours for it to 'ripen'

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Almond and blueberry sponge pudding

I’ve had a slow-cooker for ages and, like most people, don’t make use of it nearly enough. It sits lonely in my kitchenette waiting patiently for its opportunity to shine. Last week, I saw a slow-cooker recipe for a cherry Bakewell pudding and decided to convert it into and almond and blueberry sponge pudding.

It’s a real no fuss, straightforward recipe. I swapped cherries for blueberries; however raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants or blackcurrants would work just as well.

I highly recommend these reusable silicone pot covers as a green alternative to cling film. They come in six graduated sizes from 3-8 inches so fit containers ranging from ramekins to medium-sized mixing bowls. I use them all the time for storing food in the fridge and heating things in the microwave. I’ve now discovered that they’re perfect as a slow-steaming pudding lid!

If like me you like a bit of a crispy texture, you can stick the pudding under the grill for a couple of minutes at the end of its cooking time.

We served our almond and blueberry sponge pudding with custard. The flavour combination of almond sponge and vanilla custard with a touch of fruity sharpness from the blueberries is a real winner.

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Almond and blueberry sponge pudding

2018-02-14 08:14:18

Serves 4

Cook Time

4 hr

Cook Time

4 hr

Ingredients

150g/5¼oz blueberries, frozen and thawed
115g/4oz sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
110g/4oz butter, softened
2 eggs
½ tsp almond extract
75g/2⅔oz self-raising flour
75g/2⅔oz ground almonds
2 tbsp milk

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Instructions

Grease a 1.2-litre pudding basin, including the lid if it has one In a small saucepan, heat the blueberrries and the 3 tablespoons of sugar until the sugar dissolves and the fruit begins to burst and the juice is released. Remove from the heat before the fruit collapses. Set aside
Cream the butter and the remaining sugar together until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs one at a time until the mixture is loose and airy
Add the almond extract and combine
Fold in the flour and ground almonds
Add in the milk and combine gently. The batter should have a light texture
Put 100g of the blueberries in the bottom of the basin and pour the batter over the top of them. It won't fill the basin, but don't worry as this will give it space to expand as it cooks. Reserve the remaining cherries until later
Cover the basin securely with the lid and set it into the slow-cooker crock
Pour boiling water into the crock to come halfway up the side of the basin
Put the lid on the slow cooker and steam on high for about 4 hours. It will rise, becoming a light, fluffy sponge
Turn the pudding out onto a plate, piling the reserved cherries on top, and allow the blueberry juice to drizzle down the sides of the pudding before spooning into servings

Notes

Serve warm with hot custard

By Miss South

Adapted from Slow Cooked

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Blueberry pie

It’s been almost six months since I last posted a pie recipe on Cakes & Bakes. I’ve righted that wrong this week with a blueberry pie.

My recipe is a hodgepodge of three others. The blueberry pie filling is from my vintage 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook, Dinner for Two; the sweet pastry is from Dorie Granspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours and the crème Anglaise is from that catering college staple, Ceserani & Kinton’s Practical Cookery.

Much as I enjoyed this bake, if I were to make another blueberry pie, I’d do it a little differently.

Firstly, the blueberry pie filling was WAAAAY too sweet for my taste. Perhaps it wouldn’t have tasted so sweet if the pastry I’d used had been just a plain shortcrust.

Secondly, the filling recipe calls for ½ teaspoon of cinnamon; Justin liked it, but it just didn’t work for me.

Thirdly (and lastly), I had my first slice with crème Anglaise and my second (not straight after, obviously 🙂 ) with double cream. I much preferred the latter version.

Perhaps I’ll test my 3rd portion with vanilla ice cream – all in the name of research on behalf of our readers, of course!

Blueberry pie

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

For the pastry

400 g/14oz plain flour
120 g/4oz icing sugar
pinch of salt
250 g/9oz very cold butter
2 egg yolks

For the filling

125 g/4½oz caster sugar
30 g/1oz plain flour
½tsp teaspoon ground cinnamon
375 g/13oz blueberries
2 tbs butter

For the crème anglaise

300 ml/½pt milk
25 g/1oz caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2-3 drops vanilla extract I used ¼tsp vanilla bean paste

Instructions

For the pastry

Put the flour, icing sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine
Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely - you'll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that's just fine
Stir the eggs, just to break them up, and add it them little at a time, pulsing after each addition
When the eggs are in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds
Just before your pastry reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change, so listen out
Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Very lightly and sparingly - make that very, very lightly and sparingly - knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing
Butter the pie dish and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the dish and over the rim. Don't be stingy - you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it. Also, don't be too heavy-handed - you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don't want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbread-ish texture
Freeze the pastry for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking
Preheat the oven to 175ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 4
Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminium foil and fit the foil tightly against the pastry
Bake the pastry for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil. If the pastry has puffed up, press it down gently with the back of a spoon
Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. Allow to cool before adding the pie filling

For the filling

Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon
Stir in the blueberries
Turn into pastry-lined pie dish and dot with butter
Roll out the remaining piece of pastry into a round and, using the rolling pin, carefully lower the pastry over the filling
Press the pastry lid into the pastry bottom either with your thumbs or a fork. Trim the excess and brush the top with a little milk
Bake at 175ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 4 for 25-30 minutes or until crust is brown and juice just begins to bubble through slits in the crust

For the crème anglaise

Boil the milk in a medium-sized saucepan. Allow to cool a little
Mix yolks, sugar and vanilla in a basin before adding to the milk
Put the saucepan back on a low heat and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon until the desired thickness. Do NOT boil
Pass through a fine sieve into a serving jug

Keyword blueberries, blueberry, fruit pie, pastry, pie