Monday 4 May 2009

Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake

Pin It Now!

Another occasion, another cake.

My friend N. retired a few weeks ago and since the leaving dos at work are usually quite a stiff affair, he decided he much rather wanted to have a picnic on a beach in Wales with all his friends. So yesterday we filled up quite a few cars with people and food and headed for Anglesey.



I think I can safely say that a wonderful time was had by all. What else is to be expected from a day full of sun, sand, sea, food and friends! Even though generally sand and food don't always mix that well, but only a few slices of smoked salmon and a couple of sausage rolls fell victim as far as I know.

I took a Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake along for the picnic. The recipe comes from my Avoca Tea Time cookbook. I bought the book last year whilst on holiday in Ireland after sampling some of the fantastic cakes in the Avoca Cafes. Just like everything I had tried in the tea rooms, this cake was delicious and went down really well with everyone who tried it.



Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake

225gr unsalted butter, softened
225gr caster sugar
4 medium eggs, beaten
225gr self-raising flour
1/2tsp baking powder
35gr ground almonds
juice of and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
225gr mixed summer berries

juice of and finely grated zest of 3 lemons
175gr caster sugar

200gr summer berries (optional)

Preheat your oven to 150C/Gas 2.

Grease and line a 23cm springform pan. (Mine is 25cm and worked fine.)

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until it becomes pale in colour.

Then slowly add the eggs bit by bit and continue to beat until well combined.

With a wooden spoon gradually fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder.

Fold in the juice and zest of 1 lemon and finally half of the berries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared springform pan and spread it out evenly.

Top with the other half of the berries and bake for about an hour in your preheated oven. Mine took about an hour and ten minutes until the inserted wooden skewer came out clean.

Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack.

While the cake is still hot, warm the sugar with the zest and juice of three lemons in a sauce pan, stirring until the sugar disolves.

Prick the cake in several places with a wooden skewer and pour the hot sugar/lemon syrup over the warm cake. Don't forget to put some tin foil underneath your wire rack when you do this. It makes the cleaning up much easier as otherwise you'll have loads of sticky syrup on your table or worktop.

When the cake is cool top it with some extra summer berries (optional) and serve.

26 comments:

Ginny said...

Look great! I love the view and the cake! :)

Deborah said...

You know i love lemon, and this is beautiful!

chocolatecup said...

i am so jealous of all the berries you get!:P lovely cake:)

Jennifer said...

STUNNING pics!!! So fresh and bright!

Anonymous said...

What a great combination.

The Curious Cat said...

Hmmm looks delcious - what is Anglesey like? I always perk up when I hear of it having studied Tacitus in Latin and the story of the druids there!

sangeeta said...

looks absolutely appetizing.......the berrys are so fresh.....

Abitofafoodie said...

What a delcious take on the classic lemon drizzle cake. One of my favourites - I've never thought to pair it with berries. How lovely!

Caroline said...

It looks gorgeous, especially with all the fresh berries - I can't wait for the season to come fully so they're more affordable!

A picnic on the beach sounds like the perfect leaving party to me!

pigpigscorner said...

The cake looks amazing with that pile of summer berries...and with lemon syrup...yum yum

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely beautiful!!! Great job.

J.L. Danger said...

What a great idea! Sounds amazing!

Sam said...

The cake looks delicious and very summery with all those fresh berries on top!

Nic said...

That's a beautiful looking cake Sylvie, perfect for a picnic!

Marie Rayner said...

That looks delicious Sylvie! I have missed seeing you on Zaar lately. Hoping everything is well with you. XXOO

Jan said...

That cake looks amazing - I love the berries on top.

Katie said...

Looks wonderful and so fresh and summery with all those berries.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Lemon is like chocolate to me so this would be the perfect ending.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

So prettily done, Sylvie - gorgeous!

Jaime said...

those fresh berries are just calling my name! yum

Ginger said...

Could the Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake look any better? Amazing photos and great blog. Thanks for sharing.

Katiecakes said...

Your cake looks beautiful, wish I had a slice right now :)

Katie xox

♥Rosie♥ said...

Absolutely gorgeous, who could want for more with this stunning Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake - not I!

Rosie x

Helen said...

Lovely cake and photo - I have not been to Anglesea for about 10 years. It is very very pretty.

Maggie said...

Beautiful summery fruit plus lemon drizzle cake - perfect!

manila homes said...

This is so special