A bright and tart afternoon cake recipe that uses blueberries and a sharp lime cream cheese frosting. This cake is delicious and as it only keeps for a few days, big slices are somewhat necessary.
The greek yoghurt inspiration came from an 80 year old babe called Margaret who I once met at a family wedding. She was a font of baking knowledge, and greek yogurt (or sour cream) she claimed was the secret ingredient in her repertoire of perfect cakes.
The sour tanginess of yoghurt keeps the cake moist and offsets the sweetness. And by adding lime & cream cheese to the icing, the result is a more zingy cake than over-sweet (like some frostings can be) resulting in cake that is somewhat refreshing.
Serves 10
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
200g butter (softened)
200g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
2tsp vanilla paste/extract
150ml greek yoghurt
For the Lime Icing:
200g philadelphia or mascarpone Cheese
100g icing sugar
1 lime (zest and juice)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/ 350°F
Grease and line with baking parchment one 22cm round cake tin
Using an electric mixer or by hand cream together the butter and sugar until pale
In a separate bowl combine the ground almonds and flour
Add the eggs one by one with a heaped table spoon of the flour and almond mixture until all are combined
Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla essence and then stir in the blueberries with a spatula or wooden spoon
Leave to bake for 40-50 minutes until the top is golden and springs back to the touch
For the Lime Icing:
Beat all the ingredients together with a hand whisk until smooth add more or less lime juice depending on how runny you prefer it
Spread over the cooled cake, letting it trickle down the edges.
Top with a handful of blueberries and dust with icing sugar
