This old-fashioned little cake is pretty easy to make. It’s moist with a soft crumb and like most tea cakes, it only keeps fresh for a day or so. It’s supposed to be baked in a 20cm/8″ square pan, but I’ve always used a 23cm/9″ one – mistakenly at first, and then out of habit ever since.
This particular cake came about quite serendipitously – our miller friend Kevin Sherrie spotted us a half bag of self-raising flour (half a 25kg bag, that is), I had berries from our last trip to Marrickville, and Pete had a fresh batch of yoghurt made, which I flavoured with a little berry puree.
The original recipe specified fresh blueberries, but I never have them on hand, so I always use defrosted frozen berries. Note that you really do need to let them defrost, or they’ll sink like stones into the cake batter. As it was, mine were still a little too cold, hence the craters in the top of the cake.
- 150g (10 tablespoons) butter, cut into pieces
- 155g (¾ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 large (59g) eggs
- 265g (1¾ cups) self-raising flour
- 200g (7oz) berry yoghurt (I used homemade, but the original recipe recommended Attiki brand fat-reduced strawberry)
- 150g (5.3oz) berries, fresh or defrosted if frozen
- Icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) to dust
1. Preheat oven to 180C (360F) or 160C (320F) with fan. Line the base and sides of a 20cm/8″ or 23cm/9″ square cake pan.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Stir in half the flour and half the yoghurt until just combined. Then stir in the remaining yoghurt and flour until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Scatter the berries evenly over the top and bake for 35 – 40 minutes (check it after 30 minutes), or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Allow the cake to rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 