Gooseberry Cake
The gooseberry season is short but sweet (and sour!), so make the most of it while you can with this beautiful cake. While gooseberry is the star ingredient, the addition of molasses gives the cake an extra depth that nicely complements the berries.
From the book
Bake It Easy: One-pan Recipes That Prove Baking is a Piece of Cake
50 fuss-free one-tin bakes
Simple recipes you can make in a square, round or loaf tin
From classic comfort bakes to bold new flavours
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Introduction
In our opinion, gooseberries are criminally underused, so we want to be cheerleaders for this delicious, humble berry and show the world its sharp wit and zest for life. The hint of molasses in the sponge adds a dark side to proceedings, challenging our sweet perceptions of cake and daring to be a little different. We know the season for gooseberries is quite fleeting, so if you’re finding it tricky to source them, some plums, juicy black grapes or tart rhubarb will also work a treat.
Ingredients
| 175g (6oz) | soft butter |
| 125g (4½oz) | caster (superfine) sugar, plus 20g (¾oz) extra for sprinkling |
| 1 tbsp | black treacle (molasses) |
| 1 tsp | vanilla paste |
| 2 | eggs |
| 100g (3½oz) | ground almonds |
| 200g (7oz) | self-raising flour |
| 1 tsp | baking powder |
| ¼ tsp | sea salt |
| 250g (9oz) | gooseberries, halved |
| crème fraîche or Greek yogurt, to serve (optional) |
Essential kit
You will need: A square tin. 20cm x 20cm (8in x 8in). This is usually 5cm (2in) deep and is sometimes referred to as a brownie tin. Easy to find and to use, this is one of the most popular baking tins in the world. We’d recommend getting two tins for ease of lining and baking, though you may find they don’t stack too well. We like the Tala Performance 20cm (8in) square tin – it’s made from carbon steel so gives an even bake every time.
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/320°F/Gas 4 and line your 20cm (8in) square tin (see note below).
To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon, until light and fluffy. Add the treacle, vanilla and the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Mix in the ground almonds, then sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and gently fold together until well combined.
Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and scatter the halved gooseberries evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining caster sugar over the berries, place in the centre of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the gooseberries are starting to look jammy and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool, then remove from the tin.
Serve on its own or with a big helping of crème fraîche or yogurt, if you like.
Note: Try topping this with the sugared almonds.
A note on how to line the tin:
Snip method: This is simple and quick. Cut a square large enough to come up all sides of the tin, with a little excess. Make a diagonal cut from each corner in towards the centre of the paper, approximately the same length as the depth of the tin. Place the paper in the tin and allow the cut corners to overlap each other – it should nestle neatly in the tin with the edges rising up just above the lip.
Scrunch-up method: For runny batters or just for a quick fix, cut an oversized piece of parchment paper, run it under the tap in the sink, then shake off the excess water and scrunch it up into a ball. When you open it out again, it will be creased and a lot more malleable. Press it into your tin, getting into the corners and making sure there is enough excess coming over the top edges. You can then pour in your more liquid batters, safe in the knowledge you have a watertight tin.
No parchment method: If you’ve run out of parchment, or live in a paperless household, you can always go back to basics: butter up your tin and dust it liberally with flour or cocoa powder. This method is good for tins with a non-stick coating but it certainly isn’t foolproof, and the excess parchment can’t be used to lift your bakes from the tin.
Reviews
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