Summer Berry Cake

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

Saturday afternoon, I'm at home & there's a summer cake baking in the oven.

A cake with blackberries & raspberries.

Excited as I've never attempted this before. It's a basic cake mix but with layers of seasonal berries in between.

It took just a few minutes to weigh the ingredients & to bring everything together.

The aroma permeating the kitchen makes me happy. 

There's more work to be done once the bounty leaves the oven but nothing too taxing or time consuming.

A sweet, fruity drizzle if you please. 

Here's how you start .. 

A 2lb/900g Loaf Tin is needed. Grease & line it with some parchment paper.

Let the butter you're using for the cake be well softened.

Oven on 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4

2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract (N.B. not Essence)
175g Blackberries & Raspberries (Halve any large berries)
140g Granulated Sugar
2 tbsp Lime Juice
175g Butter 
175g Caster Sugar
250g Self-Raising Flour

A big bowl at the ready and in goes the butter, caster sugar, flour, eggs & vanilla extract 

Beat for a few minutes until you have a thick & creamy mixture

Add about a third of the cake mix into the loaf tin before popping in 50g of the berries

Repeat, taking care with the second layer before scattering on more fruit

The last of the mixture goes on before you place it into the oven to bake for 1 hour

Check it's cooked right through by putting a skewer into the centre of the cake & checking it comes out clean

Time for the finishing touches

Leave the cake in the tin & keep the skewer to hand to jab tiny holes into it

The remaining berries go into a bowl together with the granulated sugar & lime juice, gently mash & spoon over the top of the cake 

Let the seasonal beauty cool & your luscious topping is set

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

I'm excited to see what it looks like inside

AMM