Lemon Blackberry Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 75 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
- 113g butter
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup caster or superfine sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 4 eggs, room temperature
Lemon syrup
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
Blackberry Buttercream
- 75g/2.7ozs. butter, at room temperature
- 2.5 cups icing or confectioners sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- A few drops blackberry flavouring (I use LorAnn brand)
- Purple food colouring
To assemble
- 150g/5ozs blackberry jam
- 1 punnet fresh blackberries
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F and line 5 rectangular baking trays with parchment. Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt together. Add the lemon juice to the milk. In an electric mixer beat butter, oil, sugar and zest together until pale and fluffy (around 3-4 minutes).
Step 2 - Add eggs one at a time beating well between additions. Then on the lowest speed or by hand, add in the flour mixture in two or three lots alternating with the milk mixture. Divide among the five tins and bake for 20 minutes or until the centre springs back when touched.
Step 3 - While it is baking, make the lemon syrup. Boil the lemon juice and sugar together until slightly reduced and syrupy (don't make too thick). Allow to cool.
Step 4 - Make the buttercream. Beat the butter until smooth and then add icing sugar and blackberry flavouring and purple colouring and beat until fluffy.
Step 5 - Place one cake layer on a plate and brush with syrup. Spread with buttercream and then place another layer on top and brush with syrup and then spread with blackberry jam. Repeat with buttercream and jam brushing syrup on each layer. You can trim the sides on this cake to make it neater (I freeze the cake for 1 hour just to firm it up before cutting). Top with fresh blackberries.