When you want something homemade to serve with tea or coffee, a blueberry and lemon loaf cake is an easy option that does not require much fuss.
The cake has a light, buttery texture similar to a Madeira cake, with fresh blueberries running through the sponge and lemon adding a little brightness.
Blueberry And Lemon Loaf Cake
Ingredients
1½ cups cake wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
Juice of ½ lemon
Zest of ½ lemon
½ cup milk
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon flour
Pinch of salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, eggs and milk. Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk until well combined.
Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined and there are no visible streaks of flour. If the batter seems particularly thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk.
Rinse the blueberries and drain them well. Place them in a bowl with a tablespoon of flour and gently toss until coated.
Add the blueberries to the cake batter, taking care not to add excess flour, and gently fold them through.
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
If the top starts browning too quickly, loosely cover the loaf with foil for the remainder of the baking time or move it to a lower shelf in the oven.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for about 30 minutes before slicing.
A simple trick for the blueberries
Tossing the blueberries in a little flour before adding them to the batter is a useful step when making fruit-filled cakes.
It can help distribute the berries more evenly through the mixture rather than having them all settle at the bottom. Smaller blueberry pieces can also be less likely to sink.
The important thing is not to overmix the batter once the flour has been added.
Stir just until everything comes together, then fold in the blueberries gently. Overmixing can result in a tougher cake.
– IOL Lifestyle
