Lemon Spelt Cake with Blackberry Icing
This lemon spelt cake with a blackberry icing is simple, quick and utterly delicious.
I am a fan of big, towering layer cakes as much as the next woman. Sometimes, though, a one layer cake does the trick. I’d been fantasising about cake for days. Soft, luscious cake. I had some blackberries to use up in the freezer before this year’s yield from the garden and wanted a nice lemon cake to go with them.
My original plan was to put the blackberries in the cake but decided to go with a thick, super sweet, icing. I was feeling a tad lazy and because of this, didn’t strain the berries when I cooked them up. I actually wanted thick, juicy blackberry icing but didn’t give much thought to the seeds. In actual fact, you don’t even notice them.
Even if there is a slight crunch, I liked it; especially when coupled with a soft sponge. If you’d rather not have the seeds, just strain the blackberries before you use them.
There’s something wonderful about blackberries, isn’t there? I love using them in baking. If you like my lemon spelt cake with blackberry icing, be sure to check out my other recipes including the luscious berries, like overnight blackberry buns or fabulously easy blackberry iced buns.
Lemon Spelt Cake with Blackberry Icing
Ingredients
Cake
- 125g butter
- 125g sugar
- 2 eggs
- zest of one lemon
- 115g spelt flour (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon milk
Icing
- 200g blackberries (frozen works great)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Icing sugar (as much as you need)
Decoration
- extra blackberries (optional)
Instructions
- First, prepare the blackberries for the frosting: On a low heat, cook the blackberries with the sugar until they are very soft and mushy (about 20 minutes). Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. For the best results, prepare a day or so in advance and keep them in the fridge (this is not a requirement, but it means you use less icing sugar when making the glaze because the berries are very thick).
Cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 175°C. Grease a small (18cm or 6") spring-form pan.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until light. Add the eggs, one at a time.
- Sift the baking powder with the flour and add to the wet ingredients.
- Add the milk and mix until just combined.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake for around 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Let it cool completely.
Icing
- When ready to ice the cake, add as much sifted icing sugar to the cold blackberries as necessary - you should be aiming for a fairly thick, spreadable consistency.
- Slather over the cake and top with a few extra blackberries if you like. Cut into slices and enjoy
Notes
- You can use regular flour - just use 125g instead of the 115g mentioned.
- I use grams in my recipes as weighing ingredients is the most accurate method. However, if cups are your thing, you can convert my measurements at Cook it Simply.