If I ever need to bake a cake that is striking in apperance yet always delicious and simple, I would opt for a blueberry cake. Where else will you find a colour so gorgeous and naturally subtle or strong depending on how you use it? Eye catching shades of mauve and purple without a drop of food colour. And bonus, the sweetest, quickest berry available to most people. No need to hull, no seeds, just pop hem into your mouth or top your favourite desserts with them for that show stopper look.
This cake is pretty easy to make except that there is a different set of challenge with intricate bundt cakes that you need to be mindful of. I’ve learnt it the hard way and had a my fair share of destroyed bundts. So please grease your pan enough so as to cover every edge and corner and turn of the design. I normally don’t flour the pan, sometimes I may use a coating of icing sugar if I’m concerned about the texture of the batter. If you know your pan well, feel free to go ahead and follow a technique that works for you.
I hope you enjoy making and sharing this cake with your loved ones.
Lemon Poppy Seed and Blueberry Cake
Makes a medium bundt cake
200g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
285g (1 1/3 cups) caster sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds
150g butter, melted, cooled
3 eggs
100ml milk
1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
100ml (1/3 cup) fresh lemon juice
Blueberry Glaze
1/2 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 and 1/2 cup icing sugar (more if required)
Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray a bundt pan with canola oil. Make sure you grese it really well.
Sift both flours into a large bowl. Stir in caster sugar and poppy seeds. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the butter, eggs, milk, lemon rind and lemon juice in a bowl until combined.
Add the lemon mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, drizzle with blueberry glaze (recipe below). Allow to set for 30 minutes. Top with fresh blueberries.
To make the blueberry glaze, place the blueberries, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the blueberries soften and release their juices, use a blender to puree the blueberries. Add the icing sugar in intervals, stirring constantly until glaze is smooth and desired consistency is reached.
