Eastern Home Kitchen

Baking & Desserts

Blueberry Cake

A butter sponge with half a kilo of blueberries — some folded through the batter, the rest laid in the base of the tin so they end up on top.

A blueberry cake with berries on top, one slice cut and lifted out

https://easternhomekitchen.com/recipes/blueberry-cake/

Prep
20 mins
Cook
40 mins
Total
1 hr
Yield
12 servings
Cuisine
Eastern European

The fruit does the work here. Half of it goes into the tin first so that when the cake is turned out the berries sit on top, glossy and slightly collapsed; the rest is folded through the batter and sinks where it likes.

It is a plain butter sponge otherwise, which is the point — it is a vehicle for the blueberries and for a scoop of ice cream on the side.

Ingredients

Makes 12 servings

  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • 200 g1 cup granulated sugar
  • 250 g2 cups plain flour
  • 125 g½ cup butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the tin
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar
  • 500 g1 lb blueberries

Instructions

  1. Set out the eggs, sugar, butter, flour, vanilla, baking powder and blueberries.

    Eggs, sugar, butter, flour and blueberries laid out

  2. Whisk the eggs to a foam, adding the sugar gradually. Keep going until the mixture has roughly doubled and falls in a ribbon.

    Eggs and sugar whisked to a pale thick foam

  3. Pour in the melted, cooled butter and the vanilla. Sift the flour with the baking powder — sifting matters here — and fold it in until just combined.

    Flour being folded into the whisked egg and butter batter

  4. Butter a 24 cm tin and scatter half the blueberries across the base. Fold the rest into the batter, pour it over and level the top. Bake at 180°C for about 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

  5. Let the cake cool completely in the tin before turning it out, or it will break. Dust with icing sugar and serve with ice cream.

    The finished blueberry cake, cooled and dusted with icing sugar

Notes & tips

  • Cool the melted butter before adding it. Hot butter deflates the whisked eggs on contact.
  • Toss the berries destined for the batter in a teaspoon of the flour to slow them sinking.
  • Cool it fully in the tin. Warm, the base is fragile and the fruit is molten.

Substitutions

  • Blueberries — Raspberries, blackcurrants or pitted cherries. Frozen berries work straight from the freezer — add 5 minutes.
  • Butter — Sunflower oil, 110 ml, for a moister and slightly plainer crumb.
  • Vanilla sugar — A teaspoon of vanilla extract, or the zest of a lemon, which suits blueberries particularly well.

Storage & freezing

In the fridge
4 days in an airtight container. Bring it back to room temperature before eating.
In the freezer
3 months, whole or sliced and wrapped.
Make ahead
Better on the second day, once the fruit's moisture has spread through the crumb.

Frequently asked questions

Why did all my berries sink?

Wet berries and a slack batter. Tossing them in a little flour helps, and putting half of them in the base of the tin means at least half are exactly where you want them regardless.

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes. Do not thaw them — thawed berries bleed into the batter and turn it grey. Straight from the freezer, plus about 5 minutes on the bake.

How do I know when it is done?

A skewer into the centre should come out with crumbs but no wet batter. Aim for the middle, away from a berry, or you will get juice and think it is raw.