Baking

Lemon & Blackberry Layer Cake

Whether it’s a celebration or just an afternoon treat, this cake is suitable for any occasion. Unlike standard butter-based sponges, this one is made with oil, which gives such a lovely moistness to the cake making it last a good few days rather than drying out

45 minutes prep, 25 minutes cook

Serves 12

Ingredients

For the cake:

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g self-raising flour

225g sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing

150ml milk

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

½ tsp fine sea salt

For the compote:

200g blackberries, fresh or frozen (defrosted if frozen)

50g caster sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp arrowroot powder

For the buttercream:

225g butter, softened

375g icing sugar, sifted

2 tbsps milk

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Brush two 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with oil and line with parchment. To make the sponge, place the sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk until they are light in colour and frothy. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir until combined and pour into the cake tins.

Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown and the sponge is just coming away from the edge of the tins. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then run a palette knife around the inside edge of the tins. Carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the blackberry compote, put the blackberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook over a low–medium heat for 10 minutes or until the blackberries have broken down. Push through a sieve and return to a clean saucepan. Mix the arrowroot with 1 teaspoon water to form a paste. Stir into the purée and cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time until just simmering. Set aside to cool – it will thicken slightly as it cools.

Place the ingredients for the buttercream in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Set your mixer to a low speed and gradually increase it until you have a smooth, creamy buttercream.

To assemble, place one cake upside down and spread it with some buttercream. Turn the other cake upside down and spread a generous layer of blackberry compote. Sandwich together. Spread a thick layer of buttercream on the top and sides of the cake, smoothing the edges with a palette knife (for a super smooth finish, dip the knife into hot water before you spread). Finish by swirling some compote through the buttercream on the top of the cake.