ICED LEMON & BLUEBERRY CAKE, Indulgence

Despite every effort, this sensational cake is almost wholly indulgent...

Classic 'Pound' Cake with a 67 twist or two, slightly healthier than normal
'Really excellent.''Nice & spongy; delicious' ' Light even with wholemeal flour'

This blog is a firm believer in regular indulgences.  Once a week at least; at a minimum, once a month.

But the indulgence has to be worth it -- every mouthful must be so delicious, so delightful, so memorable that it is taken without regret.  Every single calorie ingested, every single pound spent should be cancelled out by the sheer deliriousness of desires gratified.(Which is not to say that portion control goes out the window!) 

This cake fits the bill.

It's based on the classic 'Pound' cake, which originated in England, and contained a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour.  The high ratio of butter and sugar makes it dangerous.

That's it's so easy to put together -- a responsible child could make it -- is a terrific bonus.  It's adapted from Tana Ramsay. 

A few concessions were made for good health: fresh blueberries and fresh lemon juice were added to the batter.  A fifth of the flour was replaced with self-raising whole meal flour* for added fibre.  

But essentially it's one of those mouthwatering cakes that make you stop in your tracks.  

Cost: £4
Makes: about 24 pieces

Ingreds:
   225gm/8oz unsalted butter, very soft
   225gm/8oz caster sugar
   4 eggs
   finely grated zest 1 lemon
   225gm/8oz self-raising flour
       OR 185gm/6.5oz self raising flour + 40gm/1.5oz wholemeal s. raising flour
   1 tsp vanilla

   generous handfuls fresh blueberries
   
Icing
   juice 1.5 lemons
   85 gm/3oz  sugar

Method:

1. Line a 9inchx11inch/23cmx28cm rectangular tin with greaseproof paper
2. Preheat oven to 180c/350f
3. Beat butter and sugar until pale & creamy; it will take a few mins
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one
5. Add lemon zest and vanilla; beat
6. Sift in flour, beat until just mixed
7. Mix in lemon juice
8. Scrape 2/3 of mixture into the tin, scatter blueberries evenly over the top; add the rest of the batter and level top with spatula
9. Bake 45-50mins until a skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean
10. Allow to cool, in tin, on a cooling rack
11. As soon as you can, stir together lemon juice and sugar
12. Pour over the warm cake, spreading it out evenly
13. Leave in tin until completely cold
14. Cut into bars for portion control; the cake is very rich 

*Duchy Organic

Comments:

'Really excellent; the sweet blueberry perfectly offsets the lemon.  Very moist, good body, not too sweet.' Campaign Manager
'Nice and spongy, very delicious.' Political intern from Boston University
'Utterly gorgeous with tender crumb; very light even with wholemeal flour.'  Retired writer

Tips:

• it's a good idea to pick over the blueberries from the packet; one or two of them may be 'on the turn'

 More easy baking on NavBar: Recipes 1

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This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.