Berry and custard cake

While I enjoy tackling complicated, involved recipes – indeed, it wouldn’t be much of a blog if each week my comments amounted to “open the packet, pour it out into a bowl” – there is something very rewarding about a simple recipe that looks so much more. This is definitely such a recipe. The finished cake looks sophisticated and like you spent several hours on it. In truth the whole cake is baked in one go and once it’s baked there’s little more to do than eat it!

This is a perfect cake to make right now when the summer berries are abundant and of beautiful quality. I used English raspberries and blackberries but you could use any mix of berries that take your fancy. Nothing says summer like a colander full of berries!


Once the cake batter is in the tin you sit the berries on top:


Then cover the berries with custard:


The custard is incredibly easy to make and as it is made with soured cream rather than the more usual double cream it has a very slight tart edge that compliments the berries perfectly. If you normally find custard too sweet then give this a go.

Whilst cooking the cake encases the custard and this is what it looks like once baked; I love the way you can see the berries just waiting to burst free from the squidgy sides of the cake:


I knew the cake would taste delicious but thought it needed something to make it look pretty. The recipe recommended serving it with whipped cream and more berries so I though why not put these on top of the cake?


The berries clearly thought this was a good decision as they are positively glowing with happiness!


This is the sort of cake where everybody wants a second slice. Can you blame them?



Cream, custard, berries and sponge. The perfect summer cake. Enjoy!


If some of the measurements in the recipe look strangely precise it is because I converted it from a US recipe in cups.

Finally I got to use my new cake tin this week – I like things that go beyond being merely useful and are also beautiful. I ordered mine from Amazon.


Ingredients:
For the cake:
125g (1 cup) plain flour
112g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 egg
100g (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
300g (3 cups) mixed berries (I used raspberries and blackberries)

For the custard topping:
475ml (2 cups) soured cream
112g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 ½ tablespoons custard powder
2 egg yolks
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional decoration: whipped cream and raspberries

How to make:

- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin.
- Mix together all the cake ingredients, except the berries, until you have well combined and smooth batter.
- Spoon into the cake tin and level.
- Place the berries evenly over the surface of the cake batter and put the tin to one side.
- Now make the custard topping. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and beat until you have a nice yellow runny custard.
- Pour the custard gently over the berries so as not to disturb them.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until the custard is well set. Mine took 60 minutes. Don’t worry if the cake creeps up over the custard whilst baking – it gives a rather nice ‘enclosed’ look, as if the sponge base is a bowl for the custard.
- Leave to cool in the tin, on a wire rack. The cake will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator.
- Serve with whipped cream and berries, if desired; you can either pipe it on top of the cake and place the berries on top or serve separately in bowls.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.