Blueberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

 
Every time I go to Costco I pick up a large punnet of Blueberries.  I adore fresh blueberries and often have them on my cereal in the morning.  I also enjoy them baked into muffins, cakes and desserts.  They really shine in baked desserts.
  
Theyare so good for you.  They are what is known as a super-food, and small wonder as they are little power-houses of nutrition. Packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids, these berries are also high in potassium and vitamin C, making them the top choice of doctors and nutritionists. Not only can they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they are also anti-inflammatory.  You can't lose! 
  
Today I decided to bake some of them into a cake I adapted from a recipe that I found in the book Simple by Ottolenghi.
 
This was the first recipe I have cooked from the book, although I have quite a few ear-marked.  I love the food of Ottolenghi.  When I worked at the Manor, the oldest daughter would often come down from London for the weekend and she would often bring with her things she had bought in his London shop and restaurant.  His salads are phenomenal.
 
I have been gathering middle Eastern ingredients together so that when my children are here we can do some middle Eastern cooking together.  Create a few taste memories with each other.
 
I found this cake is a bit denser than most cakes are, perhaps from the combination of the use of ground almonds and flour combined.  In fact there is more ground almond in the cake than there is flour.
 
There are a full two cups of blueberries in the cake.  Some are stirred into the cake batter before baking and some are scattered over the top of the cake partially through the bake time.
 
For the most part my berries sunk to the bottom  . . .  which didn't really affect the taste of the cake, just the looks.  In the book the photo of the cake had plenty of berries sitting on top, bleeding into th icing.
  
The texture is very much like a frangipane bake . . .  dense, buttery and lovely . . .  just sweet enough  . . . the perfect combination with the sweet/tart berries . . .
 
It may not be the prettiest cake around, but it I think it is one of the tastiest   . . . .
 
The batter is flavoured with plenty of freshly grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and vanilla.  Blueberries and lemon are the perfect partners  . . .
 
The finished cake is drizzled with a lovely lemon drizzle icing once the cake has cooled completely.
 
This is the perfect cake to sit down and enjoy with a hot drink . . . . .
 
I can also see it being enjoyed on a warm summer's day with an ice cold glass of lemonade.
  
In short, this is a cake that you can enjoy any hour of the day, any day of the week, any week of the year . . .  full stop.
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Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

Yield: 8
Author: Marie RaynerA very moist and delicious loaf cake adapted from a recipe in Ottolengi 's book Simple.

ingredients:

• 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature (2/3 cup)
• 190g caster sugar (1 cup fine granulated sugar)
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 90g self raising flour (1 cup, less 3 TBS) sifted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 110g ground almonds (1 1/4 cup)
• 200g fresh or frozen berries (if using frozen, thaw and pat dry) (2 cups)
• 70g icing sugar (generous 1/2 cup)

instructions:

How to cook Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas  mark 4.  Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with paper, leaving an overhang to lift the cake out with when done.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together with the, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 TBS of the lemon juice with an electric mixer on high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes.  Lower the speed to medium and then slowly add the beaten eggs, a bit at a time and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Whisk together the flour, salt and almonds.  Add in three additions, stirring it well together.  Fold in 3/4 of the blueberries by hand.  Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and scatter the remaining blueberries over top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes.  It should be turning golden brown at this point, but still be semi-raw.  Cover lightly with a sheet of foil and bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and cooked (Mine took a further 45 minutes.) A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.  Leave in the pan to cool, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before lifting out to finish cooling completely.
4. Once the cake is completely cold, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth.  Drizzle this mixture decoratively over the cake.  Leave to set and cut into thick slices to serve.

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