Blueberry and Lemon Cake with Icing

This recipe was inspired by Ottolenghi SIMPLE- Yotum Ottolenghi’s newest cookbook featuring recipes with ten ingredients or less. As a dedicated foodie, I tend to follow the mantra that the more complicated a recipe is, the better it is. The more ingredients you use, the more steps and the more gadgets you use in a recipe, the more delicious it will be.

But Yotum has changed my thinking. This recipe for Blueberry and Lemon Cake with Icing is both simple and delicious. It uses less than ten ingredients that are mixed together in one bowl and then baked in a simple loaf pan.

The result is a very moist, delicious cake that calls out for a second (or third) helping. The only thing I would change next time is adding a few more blueberries on top!

By the way, Yotum also has a recipe in his cookbook called Bridget Jones’s Pan-Fried Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa. That sounds intriguing and I’ll definitely being trying that one next!

By the way, please do like my Facebook page, that would really make my day!

Blueberry and Lemon Cake with Icing

Print Recipe

Serves: 8 Cooking Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (150 g) salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
7 oz (200 g) blueberries
For the icing:
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1-2 tbsp. milk

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 F (180 C). Lightly grease an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with butter and set aside.

Using electric beaters, mix together the softened butter, sugar, grated lemon zest, 1 tbsp lemon juice and vanilla flavoring. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the flour and almond meal and mix well.

Manually fold in 150 g of the blueberries and pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 15 minutes then add the remaining 50 g of blueberries on top of the cake. Return to the oven and bake for another 40 minutes- cover loosely with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. The cake will be done when a prong inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

While the cake cools, make the icing. Add the icing sugar to a small bowl and stir in the 1 tbsp. lemon juice. Whisk in 1 tbsp. of milk until the icing is moist and smooth. If the icing is still too dry, stir in a little more milk; the icing should be smooth and pliant but not too runny.

Pour the icing over the top of the cake and gently spread it out.