There’s something about pistachios that make them a bit fancier than other nuts, don’t you think? So this Pistachio Cake is special, worthy of serving at any occasion! Topped with a cloud of Cream Cheese Whip. Think – subtly tangy whipped cream. Dreamy!

Pistachio cake

This is a Pistachio Cake that has a beautiful soft crumb with lovely pistachio flavour. Which, as strange as that sounds, is rarer than you might think. And I’m speaking from experience here, having tried quite a few recipes over the years!

The reason is pretty simple – this recipe uses almost double the amount of pistachios of typical recipes. Also, I insist on toasting the pistachios first before blitzing into a powder which, as with all nuts, brings out the flavour. It’s a basic step that really makes a difference, especially because there’s a limit on how much pistachio powder can be added into the batter without weighing it down. Does it surprise anyone that we are hitting the limit in this recipe??😊

Plus, pistachios are more expensive than most nuts. So let’s get as much flavour as we can out of them!

Cream Cheese Whip frosting for Pistachio Cake

We’re finishing today’s cake with a generous cloud of what I’ve christened a Cream Cheese Whip. A bit of an invention that came about when I was thinking what to top it with. It’s already rich with pistachio nuttiness so I didn’t think it needed a frosting as sweet and buttery as buttercream. But I felt like plain whipped cream was a little too light and airy, and I wanted a bit of tang to balance out the earthiness of the pistachios.

Solution? Do a Cream Cheese Frosting whipped cream mash up!

Bonus: It’s essentially a stabilised whipped cream which means it will stay fluffy for days without weeping or deflating like regular whipped cream.

Ingredients in Pistachio Cake

Here’s what you need to make this Pistachio Cake. Freshly blitzed, freshly toasted pistachio nuts is key to ensure you can actually taste pistachio in this cake.

PISTACHIOs

I use pre-shelled pistachio kernels. Nice and convenient as someone has done the shelling for me!

I prefer unsalted pistachios so I can control the amount of salt in the cake. Saltiness of nuts always seems to vary depending on brand / source. But if your pistachios are salted, just skip the salt in the recipe.

To shell your own pistachios, use 225g / 7 oz (125g/4.4 oz once shelled) and reduce the toasting time to 7 minutes (because shelled kernels tend to be softer).

⚠️ Not all pistachios are created equal. The older they are, the less flavour they have. The better the quality, the better the flavour. I’ve tried this with regular grocery store ones, and better quality ones. I still got good pistachio flavour with the regular grocery store ones. This was my baseline for this recipe.

for the CAKE BATTER

Make sure your yogurt and egg are at room temperature before making the batter. If they are fridge cold, it will make the batter cold which means the cake won’t rise as well in the oven. Speaking from experience here! I tried to skip the step of bringing yogurt to room temperature – and was penalised for it.😝

• Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. This recipe will work with self raising flour but it probably won’t rise as well (common theme using self raising flour rather than flour + baking powder). If you use self raising flour, skip the baking soda and baking powder.

• Baking powder and baking soda (bi-carb soda) – These both make cakes, muffins etc rise but have different effects on different batters. As a general rule, baking soda is 3x stronger than baking powder.

  Dead baking powder – If you haven’t used your baking powder for a while (say, a month or so), check it’s still good. Baking powder can lose its rising powder even before the expiry date!

  Substitute – if you don’t have baking soda you can substitute with extra baking powder (see recipe notes for amount). However, expect the surface of the cake to dome and the crumb is a touch less soft. It’s mainly a visual thing though, so it’s not a big deal!

• Yogurt – Much loved baking trick to make cakes and muffins with a lovely moist crumb compared to using thinner liquids such as milk. The extra role it plays here is that the acidity in yogurt gives the baking soda a kick start to make the cake rise. This is why sometimes you see a tiny amount of vinegar in cakes, like Red Velvet Cake. Looks totally out of place, but serves a purpose to get the baking soda going.

• Egg – Use a “large egg” which weighs ~50-55g/2oz each, sold in cartons labelled “large eggs” weighing 600-660g / 1.2 lb for a dozen. This recipe is reasonably forgiving so don’t fret if your egg is a bit larger or smaller, just don’t use, say, an ostrich egg or quail egg. 😂 See here for how to scale if your egg is massively different in size.

• Butter AND oil – Butter adds lovely flavour but cakes are not as moist and don’t have as good a shelf life as cakes made with oil. But oil is not as tasty! In this recipe, I like to use both so I have the best of both worlds – lovely buttery flavour and moistness plus shelf life from oil. This trick doesn’t work with all cakes, it depends on the batter. Very happy it works here!

• Sugar – Not too much, just 3/4 cup (150g). Aside from my preference for cakes that are not overly sweet, I noticed that the sweeter the cake, the less pistachio flavour came through.

  Caster sugar / superfine sugar is my default for baking because it’s finer than regular sugar (granulated sugar) so you can ensure it dissolves easily into mixtures. However, for this recipe, regular / granulated white sugar is fine. (Don’t use brown sugar, it will likely make the batter too damp).

• Green colouring – The pistachios alone will not give the cake a pistachio green colour. Rather, it comes out brown. So it needs a helping hand from food colouring if you want your cake to have the colour pictured in this post.

  I use 4 small drops to achieve the colour pictured. Feel free to add more if you want a greener cake. Once baked, the cake is a touch darker than the uncooked batter. Here’s a comparison of the batter and the colour of the cooked cake:

Cream cheese WHIP

Here’s what you need for the Cream Cheese Whip frosting. It’s essentially Whipped Cream plus some cream cheese which stabilises and enriches it, as well as giving it a lovely touch of tang which works really well with the nutty pistachio flavour.

• Cream cheese – Softened to room temperature, so it’s easy to beat until fluffy and smooth.

• Whipping cream – Make sure the cream you get can be whipped because not all cream is made for whipping. Some are dolloping creams (ie thick cream you dollop onto cakes, like sour cream) or thin pouring creams that you stir into things like soup. If it’s a whipping cream, it will say on the carton.

• Lemon juice – For a smidge of extra tang which I think goes really well with the pistachio flavour. However, not critical. Consider it an enhancement rather than essential! (PS Doesn’t make it overly lemony. I originally tried a stronger lemon flavour and found it overwhelmed the pistachio flavour).

• Vanilla – For flavour. I tried without and missed it.

• Salt – Standard practice in sweet baking recipes these days as it brings out the other flavours. We only use a pinch so you won’t taste salt.

How to make Pistachio Cake

You won’t need an electric beater to make the cake part. Just mix it up with a wooden spoon! (See FAQ section for other cake-making methods I tried).

1. MAKE PISTACHIO POWDER

Please don’t skip toasting the pistachios. It not only brings out the pistachio flavour (especially imperative if you get pistachios from regular grocery stores like I do), it makes them crisper so they grind up more easily into a powder rather than turning into a paste.

1. Toast the pistachios in the oven for 12 minutes or until they smell nutty and they are crisp (eat to check).

2. Blitz – Let them cool completely then blitz into a powder. It’s very quick using a NutriBullet as I do – literally 2 x 2 second pulses. Some pistachios lumps are ok / welcome, but you want it to be at least 95% powder.

   ⚠️ Be careful not to let the pistachios turn into a paste which will happen if you blitz for too long.

2. MAKE THE PISTACHIO cake

1. Break up pistachio clumps – Whisk the pistachio powder with the flour. Then use your fingers to break up any obvious pistachio powder clumps into a powder ie where pistachio powder has gotten a bit pasty so they stick together. Adding flour makes this step easier because if you pinch the plain pistachio powder, it sticks together into a paste. Some small clumps remaining are fine, they will dissolve in the oven.

   Then whisk in remaining dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, salt).

2. Whisk wet – Put all the wet ingredients into a separate medium bowl. Then whisk until combined.

3. Combine wet and dry – Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to mix them together but stop when the flour is just about mixed in. (Why? Because overmixed batter = tough cake, and we still have extra mixing to come when we add the food colouring).

4. Make it pistachio green! Add 4 small drops of green food colouring and mix it in. Goal – pistachio green colour. (Note: the cake becomes slightly darker in colour once baked, see above for raw batter vs cooked cake comparison.) Then mix until the batter is fully combined. You may have some small lumps from pistachio powder clumps (these will dissolve in the oven) and a few random whole bits of pistachio.

   ⚠️ If using gel rather than liquid colouring which is much more intense, use a tiny toothpick smear instead. See recipe card notes for directions.
   💡 We add the food colouring in this step because bizarrely, I found the colouring doesn’t work as well if mixed in with the wet ingredients, I needed double the amount of colouring. I can’t explain it, I just know what I experienced!

5. Pour the batter into a lined pan then spread it out in the pan. You don’t need to smooth the surface perfectly because the batter will spread in the oven.

   💡Tip : Because it’s a thickish batter, I prefer to grease the pan with butter rather than oil spray. This is because butter makes the paper stick more firmly to the pan so it won’t slide as you spread the batter.

6. Bake for 40 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced), rotating at the 30 minute mark so the cake browns evenly on the surface. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out without a batter smear (although it will be a bit wet because this is a damp cake).

   Cool completely before spreading on the Cream Cheese Whip, else it will melt! 10 minutes in the pan then about 1 hour on a rack.

3. MAKING THE CREAM CHEESE Whip

1. Cream cheese first – Beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Take a good 2 minutes on medium high speed to do this so you cream it really well. This is important because the cream is cold so it won’t blend in easily with the cream cheese (ie when you whip the cream, it can cause cream cheese lumps). To avoid this problem, you want to beat the cream cheese until it is really soft and creamy so it mixes in seamlessly with the cream.

2. Whip cream – Then add the cream, sugar, lemon, vanilla and salt, and beat until the cream is whipped. This frosting will look and behave like regular whipped cream, but it is a little richer thanks to the cream cheese. (Which is why it will stay fluffy for days rather than weeping like regular cream).

3. Spread the frosting onto the cake, making lovely big swirl patterns. A small offset spatula (pictured) makes short work of this (handy tool for cake frosting).

4. Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios. And now the moment has arrived – yes, let’s eat it!

I’m so happy with how this cake turned out. It’s one of those recipes where I’ve tried quite a number of other recipes over the years but never found what I was looking for. So I decided to come up with my own.

I really like that it’s not too sweet and it relies on the richness from the natural oil of pistachios rather than excessive amounts of butter or oil. And I love the soft texture of the crumb, and that it’s still like freshly made 3 – 4 days later. Can’t say that about many cakes!

I really hope you give it a go one day, and love it as much as I do! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Pistachio Cake

Recipe video above. Using freshly blitzed pistachios makes this cake really special, for both real pistachio flavour and a soft, moist cake texture. So don't be tempted to buy pre-powdered (if such a thing even exists!). Finished with what I've christened a Cream Cheese Whip which is like a much lighter, less sweet version of Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting. Goes so well with the nuttiness of this cake.

Note: Every ingredient has a purpose, I never include things just for the sake of it! See Ingredients section for the reason for each.

Course Cake, Sweet Baking

Cuisine Western

Keyword pistachio cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Cooling (pistachios and cake 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 – 12

Calories 317cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 125g/ 4.4oz (just shy 1 cup) pistachio kernels , unsalted (Note 1)

Dry ingredients for batter:

• 1 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder (check yours still still good if it's old)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda) (Note 2)
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Wet:

• 3/4 cup yogurt , plain, full-fat, at room temperature (Note 3)
• 60g/ 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup plain oil (canola, vegetable, cottonseed etc)
• 3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (50-55g/2oz), at room temperature

Colouring (optional)

• 4 drops green food colouring , optional (Note 4)

Cream cheese whip:

• 100g/ 3.5oz cream cheese , at room temperature (block best, tub ok)
• 3/4 cup thickened cream (heavy cream) or whipping cream (Note 5)
• 3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• Pinch of salt

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced). Grease and line a 20 cm / 8" round cake pan with baking paper (parchment paper).

Pistachio powder:

• Toast – Spread the pistachios on a tray. Bake for 12 minutes, shaking once halfway, or until the pistachios smell nutty and are crisp (eat to check!). Fully cool on the tray (~15 minutes).
• Blitz – Measure out 3/4 cup pistachios (save the rest for decorating). Blitz into a powder using pulses, taking care not to turn it into a paste. I use a NutriBullet (2 x 2 sec bursts). Spice grinder or small food processor would also work. Some larger pistachio bits are fine, but aim for 98% powder. (Note 6)

Cake:

• Break up clumps – Put the pistachio powder in a large bowl with the flour. Briefly whisk to combine then use your fingers to rub pistachio powder clumps into a powder. No need to be meticulous here, just get the larger ones.
• Dry – Add the remaining Dry ingredients then whisk to combine.
• Wet – Put all the Wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk until combined.
• Combine wet & dry – Pour the Wet into the Dry ingredients bowl. Use a rubber spatula to mix until the flour is almost mixed in.
• Colour it! Add the food colouring. Then finish mixing the batter until mostly lump free (small lumps will dissolve when baked).
• Scrape the batter into the pan and spread out it out (no need to be meticulous, the surface will smooth out in the oven).
• Bake for 40 minutes, turning the pan at 30 minutes so the surface browns evenly, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out without batter on it.
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. (~1 hour)
• Chop the reserved pistachios (mix of finely chopped and larger chunks).
• Spread the cake with the Cream Cheese Whip (steps below). Sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Cut and eat!

Cream cheese whip:

• Beat the cream cheese for a good 2 minutes on medium high until it's really light and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Do not shortcut this step, else you may end up with cream cheese lumps!
• Whip – Add the remaining ingredients then beat until the cream is softly whipped and spreadable, about 1 minute on medium high.

Notes

1. Pistachios – I use kernels already pre shelled which are typically unsalted. If you use the pistachios in the shells, use 225g / 7 oz pistachio in shells (125g/4.4 oz once shelled) and reduce toasting time to 7 minutes. If your pistachios are salted, skip the salt in the recipe.

2. Baking soda (bi-carb soda) – Substitute with 3/4 tsp extra baking powder, but expect the cake to dome a bit (rather than pictured flat surface).

3. Yogurt – Make sure it’s at room temperature else it makes the batter cold which inhibits the rise. Substitute with sour cream (give it a good mix to loosen before measuring out). Low fat is acceptable, it won’t ruin the recipe!

4. Green food colouring – Cake needs a helping hand to have a lovely green colour. If using colouring gel, which is much stronger than liquid, just dip the tip of a toothpick into the gel and smear it onto the batter. Add as much as needed to make the batter a pistachio green colour (note: colour fades as it bakes, see in post for before/after baking).

5. Cream – Make sure the cream you get can be whipped (not all cream is made for whipping). It will say on the carton.

6. Pistachios go from powder to paste fairly easily. Avoid this problem by using very short pulses and shake/scrape down the side of your appliance to blitz evenly. With a NutriBullet it takes me 3 x 1 second bursts, shaking in between. Some clumping of powder is ok because we break up clumps (mixing with flour makes this step easier).

7. Different in cup sizes in different counties – see FAQ above recipe card.

Storage – Keep leftover cake in the fridge for 4 days. Cream will not weep like regular whipped cream! Note that pistachio flavour is strongest when freshly made, but still a darn tasty cake even on day 4.

Nutrition per slice, assuming 12 slices.

Nutrition

Calories: 317cal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 476IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg

Need cake? I hear you.

Here are some of my personal favourites.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Carrot Cake

Easy lemon coconut almond cake

Chocolate Cake

Cinnamon Apple Teacake

Blueberry Cake with Lemon Frosting

Red Velvet Cake

My very best Vanilla Cake – stays moist 4 days!

Cakes

Life of Dozer

This is what happens when you become a senior citizen and can’t move fast enough to get out of the way of the young ones. 😂

The post Pistachio Cake appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Mini Christmas Cakes! Great to serve at gatherings and ideal for gifting – long shelf life, packages up beautifully, easy to make and economical. Made with my classic Christmas cake batter, the rich fruit cake is moist and velvety.

Mini Christmas Cakes

Here are the Mini Christmas Cakes I promised in last weeks’ Holiday Gift Guide!! This is just my classic Christmas Cake converted into mini form. They look so great on a platter to serve at gatherings, and are also ideal for gifting because they have a long shelf life. The cake is beautifully moist, rich with dried fruit, perfumed with Christmas spices. Dense, but soft pudding-like, not like a brick as many store bought ones are.

I also like that they’re easy to dress up for serving and gifting, because this Christmas Cake is designed to be eaten plain. So you don’t need to fuss to work around frosting or add a sauce for serving. Just dust with icing sugar, then for an extra Christmassy touch, tie a ribbon around each one and add a sprig of rosemary!

Also – the option to add a Christmas pudding drippy glaze!

What you need to make Mini Christmas Cakes

A LOT of dried fruit and very little cake batter!! 🙂

1. SOAKED DRIED FRUIT (booze optional)

Here’s what you need for the Soaked Dried Fruit. The fruit is soaked in either apple juice OR a combination of apple juice and brandy (for those who like boozy Christmas Cake).

Dried fruit mix speedy option – While I like to chop my own dried fruit (cake is softer, you get better flavour and I can use the ratios I like), feel free to use a store bought mix of pre chopped dried fruit for convenience.

• Use any dried fruit you want – As long as it weighs 855g / 30 oz in total. The selection above is the mix I like!

• Mixed peel is a store bought mix of dried, crystallised (ie sugared) lemon and orange peel. Usually it comes pre chopped – I like to chop it a bit finer. I like less citrus peel than some recipes because I’m too scarred by all those times I bit into a huge piece of orange peel. Just not to my taste! Don’t use FRESH orange and lemon peel, it will be too strong and too bitter. I do not know how much fresh peel to substitute this for.

• Juice and/or booze – for a traditional boozy Christmas Cake, just switch 1/3 of the apple juice with brandy. Can also sub apple juice with orange juice if you want a stronger citrus flavour.

2. CHRISTMAS CAKE BATTER

And here’s what you need for the cake batter part. The cake has very little baking powder because it’s quite a dense cake with a pudding-like texture. But it’s still got a distinct “cake” texture – unlike some Christmas Cakes that are so dense they are like eating fudge!

• Brown sugar – Dark brown sugar gives the cake a richer colour and that is what I use for my classic single large Christmas cake. For individual ones, I prefer a slightly lighter coloured crumb so the fruit bits stand out more, so I use regular brown sugar.

• Molasses / golden syrup – adds to the richness of flavour and colour of cake. Either is fine – I interchange year on year.

• Walnuts – sub with any nuts of choice, or leave it out completely.

• Oil AND butter – oil is what gives this cake a superb moistness. Butter is for flavour!

• Eggs – This is what makes the cake hold together rather than being crumbly.

• Flour – Just regular plain / all-purpose flour. Self raising flour can be used to substitute the flour and baking powder but the cake may dome a little more than pictured.

• Spices – All spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Classic Christmas cake flavours!

How to make Mini Christmas Cakes

The only difference between this and my classic Christmas Cake is that I bake it in a square pan so I can cut into square individual cakes.

Pan size – I use a 20 cm / 8″ square pan which makes a 4.5cm / 1.8″ tall cake so when cut into 9 squares, they are a nice tall height and impressive gift-giving size. Feel free to use a larger pan – for example, a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ pan will make a 2.3cm / 1″ tall cake which you can cut into more pieces. You can also use a muffin tin lined with silver foil patties.

1. Baking the Christmas cake

The key step that makes this so much faster to make than other fruit cakes is the fruit soaking step. Most recipes call for dried fruit to be soaked overnight. I take a speedy approach: just microwave the dried fruit with juice and/or brandy, then stand for 1 hour to soak up the liquid. So much faster – and just as effective!

1. Soak fruit – Microwave the dried fruit with the juice/brand for 1 1/2 minutes or until hot. Stir to coat then set aside for 1 hour to let the fruit soak up the liquid and plump up.

2. Batter – Beat the butter and sugar for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Because of the volume of sugar vs butter, it won’t look creamy but you can tell it’s soft from the texture. Then beat in the oil and molasses, then the salt, spices and baking powder. Then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating until just incorporated.

3. Mix in the flour using a wooden spoon.

4. Soaked fruit – Then mix in the dried fruit, including any residual liquid left in the bottom of the bowl.

5. Pan – Pour the batter into a lined 20cm / 8″ pan. It will fill it right to the top and that’s fine, the cake barely rises. As noted above, it’s a dense cake but it’s not brick-like! It’s still distinctly cakey.

6. Bake 2 1/2 hours – Cover the cake with a sheet of baking paper (which will peel off without ripping the cake surface off), then foil. Then bake for 2 hours, remove foil and paper, then bake for a further 30 minutes uncovered to colour the surface.

   Cool – Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferred to a rack to fully cool.

2. Cutting mini cakes

I like to cut into 9 squares because I think the proportions look nice and the cake is a gift-worthy size. To be specific, they are 6.5cm / 2 1/2″ squares that are 4.5cm / 1.8″ tall. As noted above, feel free to use different size pans. For example, a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ pan will make a cake that is 2.3cm / 1″ tall and you will be able to cut many more pieces.

1. Cutting – Trim the edges (to make the sides neat). Then cut the cake into pieces as desired. I do 9 squares.

2. Trim surface – The surface of the cake is ever so slightly domed. So to make the Christmas Cake into perfect uniform pieces, I trim the surface then turn them upside down and decorate the base.

3. Flip and dust or ice – Flip the cake upside down so the base of the cake is the side you decorate. Then either dust with icing sugar (easy option I use when gift-wrapping), or decorate drippy-style with white frosting (for a classic Christmas Pudding look) or top with fondant (see classic Christmas Cake recipe for directions).

Gift wrapping

As I mentioned earlier, Mini Christmas Cakes have in their favour as a homemade gifting idea. They are:

• Easy to make

• Economical – especially if you use a mixed fruit option instead of getting individual dried fruits

• Easy to decorate – Just a dusting of icing sugar makes them instantly Christmassy! Though tying ribbon around the cake really is an easy way to make them even more gift-worthy. 🙂

• Easy to gift wrap – no need to find specific size jars of gift bags. Just wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon.

• Long shelf life – This one is important to me! A few years ago I did cookies but they just don’t have a great shelf life. It’s rare for any cookie to truly remain in top-notch fresh form beyond 2 days. Wheres the Christmas Cake? I’ve kept mine in the fridge for a month and it was still like freshly made. How good is that!

Love to know how you present these Mini Christmas Cakes if you try them, or how you customise the cake to your taste. Share in the comments below – readers love getting inspiration!

Also, spoiler alert for my friends – you’re all getting Mini Christmas Cakes this year. 😂 – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Mini Christmas Cakes – ideal for gifting!

Recipe video above. Here's my classic Christmas Cake converted into mini form! They look so great lined up on a platter to serve at a gathering, and are also ideal for gifting because they have a long shelf life. The cake is beautifully moist, rich with dried fruit, perfumed with Christmas spices. Dense, but soft pudding-like, not like an enjoyable brick as many store bought ones are.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Australia, British, Western

Keyword christmas cake, easy christmas cake, fruit cake

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Fruit soaking 1 hour hour

Total Time 4 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 9 – 16 pieces

Calories 388cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Fast soaked fruit (Note 1):

• 300g / 10 oz raisins
• 150g / 5 oz diced dried apricots , chopped 8 mm / 1/3"
• 75g / 2 1/2 oz mixed peel , diced 5mm / 1/5
• 150g / 5 oz glace cherries , chopped 8 mm / 1/3"
• 180g / 6 oz dates , diced 5mm / 1/5"
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp apple juice , OR 1/3 brandy + 2/3 juice (Note 2)

Cake:

• 115g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , softened (1 US stick)
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar , packed (or dark brown sugar for a darker crumb, Note 3)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola, peanut, grapeseed)
• 3 tbsp molasses or golden syrup (Note 4)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 2/3 cups plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 3/4 cup walnuts , chopped (optional)

Decorating

• Icing sugar, for dusting
• Christmas fondant – see directions here

Christmas Pudding Drippy Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp / 15g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 – 3 tbsp milk

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Fast Soaked Fruit:

• Heat – Place dried fruit and juice/brandy in a large microwavable container. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes on high or until hot.
• Soak – Stir to coat all fruit in liquid. Cover then set aside for 1 hour (to plump up/soak and cool).

Cake:

• Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan). Grease and line a 20cm / 8" square cake pan with baking paper / parchment paper, or larger pan to get more cakes out of it. (Note 5 on pan size).
• Beating – Using an electric beater, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute on speed 5). Add oil and molasses, beat until combined. Add salt, spices and baking powder – beat until incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated.
• Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon, then the dried fruit (including all the extra liquid in bowl) and walnuts (if using).
• Pour into the cake pan, it will fill it right to the top (it won't spill over, the cake barely rises). Cover the surface with paper then cover with foil.
• Bake 2 1/2 hours – Bake for 2 hours, remove the foil and paper, then bake for a further 30 minutes. A skewer inserted into middle should come out clean with no batter on it.
• Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool completely before cutting.
• Cutting – Trim off the sides (to make them neat). Then cut into 9 squares (or more, if you want). Trim the surface (to make them level as the cake slightly domes). Then flip upside down and decorate the base of the cake.

Decorating, gifting and serving

• Simple – Dust with icing sugar. That's all this cake needs, it's so full flavoured and moist! Wrap with cellophane and ribbon to gift.
• Ribbon – Wrap and tie a ribbon around each cake. Nice way to present for serving. (Optional to include for gift wrapping too, but then there's a double ribbon situation happening – ie ribbon and cake, ribbon on cellophane!)
• Drippy white glaze – Mix the icing sugar, butter, vanilla and start with 2 tbsp milk. Mix really well (it will take time to come together, be patient). Then adjust thickness using 1/2 tsp milk at a time. BE CAREFUL – it goes from too thick to too thin very easily! Goal: Thick glaze that will ooze "pudding style", as pictured, rather than dripping in long streaks. Spoon onto cake, coaxing it down the sides. Allow to set before wrapping.
• Fondant – See directions in my classic round Christmas Cake.
• Serving – serve with custard for a traditional experience! Either homemade custard or store bought pouring custard.

Notes

1. Dried fruit – any fruit of choice can be used as long as it totals 855g / 30 oz and it’s finely chopped. Combination I’ve used is to my taste – I do not like my fruit cake too citrusy (hate biting into big chunks of orange peel!). I like having variety for flavour.

Mixed peel is a store bought mix of diced, dried, crystallised (ie sweet) orange and lemon peel. Sometimes it’s already chopped, sometimes not. Chop it to size per recipe. It is not fresh peel. Fresh peel will be much stronger and more bitter – not sure how much to use.

Pre chopped mixed dried fruit – store bought mix of pre chopped dried fruit is fine to use. Chopping your own will yield a more moist cake (pre chopped dried fruit is not as moist) BUT having said that, this cake is so ultra moist, it has the give to use pre chopped!

2. Juice / brandy – this cake tastes just as good made with or without alcohol, it comes down to personal taste. I usually make it without because Christmas Cake stretches far and I want everyone to be able to eat it.

BRANDY – If you want to use brandy, use 1/3 cup brandy PLUS 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp juice.

Juice – I like using apple juice for its neutral flavour. Pineapple and other not so strong flavoured juices will be fine here. If you like citrus flavour, use orange juice – you can taste it a bit more than other juices.

3. Dark brown sugar – makes the cake a rich dark brown colour. Can sub with normal brown sugar – will make cake lighter (also looks nice as fruit stands out!)

4. Molasses / golden syrup – adds to the richness of flavour and colour of cake. Either is fine – I interchange year on year.

5. Cake pan size – A square 20cm/8″ pan makes a 4.5cm / 1.8″ tall cake which is a nice height for 9 squares. Feel free to make this cake in a larger cake pan. a 23 x 33cm/9 x 13″ pan will make a cake 2.3cm / 0.9″ thick, it takes around 1 hour 45 minutes to bake (covered for 1 hour 15 minutes, then uncovered for 30 minutes). Don’t fret about exact baking times because the cake is very moist so it’s forgiving.

You can also use a muffin tin – silver liners look lovely. They take around 25 minutes to bake (no need to cover, just bake uncovered).

6. Serving – cake is moist and so full flavoured it’s wonderful eaten plain. But for an extra special touch, serve with custard.

7. Storage – I’ve kept it for a month in an airtight container in the fridge and it was good as it was freshly made (at room temperature). Having researched online, looks like 2 to 3 months is the general consensus (for fridge) and a year in the freezer (for this sort of cake, with no alcohol. 

Nutrition

Calories: 388cal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 127mg | Potassium: 413mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 469IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg

Life of Dozer

Pleading for help.

The post Mini Christmas Cakes – gift! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

We make mini chocolate cakes because they’re adorable, there’s an excellent ratio of frosting to cake, and you get the whole thing to yourself! With 3 layers of chocolate cake smothered in fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting, these are the perfect special occasion dessert.

Mini Chocolate Cakes

These adorable mini chocolate cakes are a petite 7cm/2.75cm size that’s made for not sharing with family and friends. Right in the spirit of special occasions that I’m suggesting you make these for! 😂

So, let me speak frankly. Individual portion mini cakes do take more time to decorate than a single chocolate cake. But they are more special. They look so great lined up on a platter. You don’t have to deal with the mess of cutting a giant cake.

And there is a high ratio of frosting to cake. These mini cakes call for half a batch of chocolate cake but a FULL batch of frosting! Not just because I’m being greedy, but simply because mini cakes have more surface area to cover.

So, for your next special occasion, there’s no need to spend $12 for a single mini cake from that posh patisserie down the road, only to be disappointed with how dry the sponge is and how meh the frosting is because it’s not made with real butter for cost cutting reasons. Let’s make our own!

(PS This recipe makes 7 mini cakes which is $84 worth for around $13 of ingredients).

Ingredients in Mini Chocolate Cakes

We’re using my classic chocolate cake batter here. It’s the perfect cake to use for mini cakes because it’s moist and stays moist (small cakes dry out faster than large ones) with the bonus that it’s a really quick and easy batter.

Chocolate cake layers

Here’s what you need for the chocolate cake batter:

• Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. The cake won’t be as soft using self-raising flour.

• Sugar – Either superfine / caster sugar or ordinary white sugar (granulated sugar). They work the same.

• Baking powder and baking soda (bi-carb) – This cake specifically uses both because it makes the softest cake with an even rise (rather than a dome). However, if you’ve only got baking powder, you can substitute the baking soda with an extra 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

• Cocoa powder – Just ordinary unsweetened cocoa powder. Not dutch processed, not hot chocolate sweetened cocoa!

• Milk – Full fat cow milk is best, though low fat works too.

• Large egg – A 55-60g/2oz egg from a carton labelled “large eggs”. More on eggs for baking here.

• Oil is the fat in this cake which is what keeps this cake incredibly moist for days upon days. The sponge is drier if you use butter. Any natural flavoured oil can be used.

• Coffee powder – Enhances the chocolate flavour, but you can’t taste coffee! Feel free to skip it.

• Vanilla – For extra flavour!

chocolate buttercream frosting

And here’s what you need for the chocolate buttercream frosting.

• Unsalted butter – Softened to room temperature so it can be whipped into a fluffy frosting. Don’t let it get too soft and sloppy else your frosting will be too! Technically in baking terms, “softened butter” should be 17°C/63°F – firmer than you think! 🙂 This is soft enough to whip into creamy fluffiness but firm enough so it doesn’t turn frosting into slop.

• Soft icing sugar / powdered sugar – As noted above, be sure to get soft icing sugar! If you use pure icing sugar the frosting will not be soft and fluffy, it sets hard.

• Cocoa – As with the cake, use plain unsweetened cocoa. Not dutch processed or sweetened.

• Vanilla – For flavour.

• Pinch of salt – To bring out the flavours in the frosting.

How to make Mini Chocolate Cakes

It really is just your favourite chocolate layer cake in mini form. But I have some little tips to make your mini-baking-life a little easier because it can get a little fiddly!

1. The cake part (super easy!)

This is my classic chocolate cake batter with minor alterations to make a smaller batch baked in a thin layer that we cut rounds out of.

1. Whisk dry – Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Add the sugar and salt, then whisk to combine.

2. Add wet – Add the egg, oil, milk and vanilla first, then whisk. Stir the coffee powder (if using) into the hot water then whisk that into the batter. It will be VERY thin!

3. Baking tray – Pour into a lined baking tray. I use a 40 x 28.5 x 2.5cm cm tray (15.8 x 11.3 x 1″ – US standard jelly roll pan). This makes a cake which is about 12mm / 1/2″ thick which is ideal for a 3 layer mini cake. Any tray around this size will work though smaller pans will make thicker sponges and larger ones will make thinner ones.

4. Bake for 13 minutes at 180°C/350°C (160°C fan-forced).

5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then use the paper to lift it out onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool on the paper for at least 30 minutes, then refrigerate for another 1 to 4 hours (uncovered) to fully, fully cool.  ⚠️ Cooling properly is an important step because otherwise the cake may be too fresh and crumbly to cut out neat circles.

6. Invert – ⚠️ Another important step – flip the cake upside down before cutting circles! Cover the surface of the cake with baking paper (it is quite sticky, so using paper is important). Then flip it upside down onto a cutting board so the sticky surface of the cake is facedown.

   Why does this matter? Because if the sticky surface is facing up, it is difficult to cut out neat circles as the sticky surface gets stuck on the ring then drags down the cake as you press down.

2. Cutting rounds

Use a 6cm / 2.4″ round cutter to cut circles out of the cake. Cut the circles as close to each other as you can to minimise wastage. You should have 21 circles. Feel free to use a different size cutter to make more smaller ones, or less larger ones!

See below for option to not cut rounds.

Prefer not to cut rounds? Or don’t have a cutter? No problems! Make square or rectangle cakes. Cut the cake into 3 equal size rectangles. Frost and stack. Refrigerate to set the frosting (so it doesn’t smear when you cut). Then cut into squares / rectangles, and frost the sides.

3. Chocolate buttercream

This is your standard buttercream, so the only things to watch out for is to start the beater on low once you add the icing sugar (to avoid a snow storm!) and to beat, beat, beat for a good few minutes at the end to get the frosting nice and fluffy!

1. Cream butter & icing sugar – Beat the butter first until nice and fluffy (a good 3 minutes), then gradually add the icing sugar and beat it in.

2. Fluff it! Beat in the cocoa powder, milk and vanilla, then once it’s all incorporated, beat on high for a full 3 minutes. This creates volume and makes the frosting fluffy so don’t skip it!

3. Proof of fluffiness. Try not to eat too much!

4. Piping bags – Transfer the frosting to a piping bag to apply to the cakes. This is the fastest and easiest way to frost the cakes! Without, you will be tearing your hair out and cursing me. Here’s why:

Trust me – piping bag is best!

The fastest and easiest way to frost these mini cakes is to use a piping bag. This avoids the need for a two step “crumb coating” that we’d otherwise need to avoid crumbs smearing into the frosting as we spread it across the cake.

This is my standard way of frosting cakes these days, mini and full size!

The crumb smearing frustration – The chocolate cake is soft and delicate because it’s a moist, springy cake (rather than dry and stiff!). What this means is that in mini form, and especially once you’ve cut rounds, the cake is very susceptible to crumbs smearing into the frosting as you spread it across the surface, which makes it look untidy.

Getting around the crumb smear – One way to get around this is to do what is called a crumb coat whereby a thin layer of frosting is spread all over the cake to catch and “glue down” the crumbs, and create a smooth surface for the final layer. The cake is then refrigerated to set the frosting, then the final layer of frosting is applied.

The piping bag solution! However, we can bypass that fiddly two step process simply by using a piping bag. By piping the frosting on, we essentially avoid contact with the surface of the crumbs on the cake layers when spreading!

So, trust me on this. A piping bag is the way to go! You can even just use a freezer bag because this frosting is so smooth. Just something to pipe it on. You don’t need a piping tip. 🙂

4. frosting

OK, now that you’re fully on board the frosting piping train (which, by the way, is my standard way of applying frosting to cakes these days, mini or not), let me show you how easy it is to do for these mini cakes!

1. First layer – Place a layer on a small piece of paper on a cake turntable if you’ve got one (or lazy Susan). But it’s fine if you don’t, it’s easy to use this method on small cakes even without one. Then a snail on the first layer. No spreading needed.

2. Layer – Place the 2nd cake layer on top, pipe another snail then cover with the 3rd layer.

3. Surface – Pipe a snail on the top which will be the surface.

4. Sides – Then pipe the frosting around the side of the cake, starting at the bottom. No need to be meticulous here because we will spread it.

5. Spreading – Now, to spread the frosting, use a light touch and spread just the surface. Avoid making contact with the cake which will dislodge crumbs that smear into your frosting! No need to be meticulous with the frosting if you plan to cover the surface. And the sides are nice when they are left a little rustic!

6. Voilà! Crumb-free frosting mini chocolate cakes, ready for decorating!

5. CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS FOR DECORATING

Decorate as you please! The easiest would be a dusting of cocoa or icing sugar / powdered sugar, or colourful sprinkles for cheerful mini birthday cakes. Pictured in post are chocolate shavings. Here’s how to do them:

1. Chocolate blocks – Use chocolate of choice. In the video I use mainly dark chocolate with a bit of white for colour.

2. Shave – Stand the chocolate on a 45 degree angle then use a knife to shave shards.

3. Said shards!

4. White chocolate is softer than dark chocolate so you will get nice curls. Whereas dark chocolate is harder so is more flaky.

5. Pile onto the cakes. Avoid touching the chocolate because it will break / melt easily. A fork makes transference and pilling easy.

6. Decorated and ready to impress!

I know, you’re already visualising the look on everybody’s face when you walk into the room with a platter of these mini cakes.

Surprise. Delight.

And of course, so, so impressed. So if the eat part isn’t enough to spur you on to make these, do it for the praise! People will be talking about your mini cakes for days to come. Weeks! Month! (I really need to grow up. Who encourages people to bake things just for the praise? 😂) – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Mini chocolate cakes

Recipe video above. We make mini chocolate cakes because they're adorable, there's an excellent ratio of frosting to cake, and you get the whole thing to yourself! With 3 layers of chocolate cake smothered in fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting, these are the perfect special occasion dessert.

No round cutter? Make square or rectangle layer cakes instead!

Makes 7 x 3 layer cakes that are 7cm / 2.8” wide.

Course Baking

Cuisine Western

Keyword individual cake, Mini cakes, Mini chocolate cake

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 7 mini cakes

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa , sifted (unsweetened, not dutch processed – Note 1)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda / bi-carb (Note 2)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1 large egg , at room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk , preferably full fat, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain oil , like vegetable, canola, peanut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder , option (Note 3)

Chocolate Buttercream

• 250g / 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
• 4 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder , unsweetened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp milk , preferably full fat

Decorations

• Dark chocolate , finely shaved using a knife (white chocolate is also pretty)
• Raspberries, rosemary sprigs

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced).
• Baking pan – Butter a 40 x 28.5 x 2.5cm cm tray (15.8 x 11.3 x 1" – US standard jelly roll pan) then line with baking paper (parchment paper).

Cake layers

• Whisk dry – Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Add the sugar and salt, then whisk to combine.
• Mix in wet – Add the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Dissolve the coffee in the hot water, then add into the batter. Whisk to combine. The batter will be VERY thin!
• Bake – Pour into the pan and bake for 13 minutes.
• Cool for 10 minutes then use the paper overhang to lift the cake onto a rack and cool for 30 minutes (leave it on the paper). Then refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour before cutting rounds (cake is too soft when freshly baked).

Assembling & frosting:

• Cutting rounds – Cover the sticky surface with paper. Then flip upside down onto a cutting board (ie sticky side down). (Note 4) Peel the paper off the base. Then press out 21 x 6cm / 2.4" rounds (or other size or shape as you desire).
• Pipe frosting – Place a piece of cake on a small piece of paper, using a dab of frosting to stop it from sliding. Pipe coils of frosting on the layers, using 3 rounds for each cake. Pipe frosting around the sides and on the top. (A cake turntable is handy if you've got one but not essential.)
• Smooth frosting – Smooth the frosting using a small offset spatula or knife, taking care to only touch the surface. Avoid touching the cake because it will dislodge crumbs that will end up in your frosting!
• Decorate with piles of chocolate shards. I also used raspberries and rosemary for the photos in the post!

Chocolate buttercream:

• Beat butter for 3 minutes on high until soft and fluffy. Add icing sugar in 3 lots. Beat it in, starting on low speed then increasing the speed (to avoid a snow storm). Once incorporated, add more icing sugar and repeat.
• Beat 3 minutes – Once the icing sugar has all been added, added the cocoa powder, milk and vanilla. Beat again, starting on low speed then increasing the speed gradually. Once the cocoa is incorporated, beat on high for 3 minutes to make it really nice and fluffy.
• Piping bags – Transfer to a piping bag for frosting. (This is the fastest and easiest way, trust me on this. Even a ziplock bag will work here).

Notes

1. Cocoa – This recipe calls for ordinary unsweetened cocoa powder, though the pricier dutch processed cocoa powder (which has more intense chocolate colour and flavour) can be used.

2. Baking soda – Can be substituted with 2 1/4 tsp extra baking powder (baking soda is an insurance policy to ensure even rise).

3. Coffee in chocolate is a common practice these days to enhance the chocolate flavour. You can’t taste it. Optional!

4. Flipping upside down is important to help cut out neat rounds because the surface of the cake is sticky so it sticks to the cutter and you end up with rather untidy circles.

5. Square or rectangle mini cakes – Easier to assemble and no cake scraps! Cut the cake into 3 equal rectangles. Frosting the layers to make one large 3 layer cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour to set the frosting (so it cuts neatly). Then cut into square or rectangles. Frost sides as desired (whip frosting again to re-fluff).

6. Storage: If leaving cooked cakes overnight, make sure it’s 100% cool then cover the top with paper (it’s sticky) then cling wrap. Refrigerate until required – you can actually do this 5 days ahead because the cake stays fresh for 5 days. Or freeze for 3 months.

Assembled cakes will stay fresh in the fridge for 5 days – the cake sponge has excellent shelf life!

Life of Dozer

In today’s recipe video, you get to watch Dozer following me around the house while I eat the chocolate cake then eventually trapping me in a dead end (laundry). No chocolate cake for Dozer!!

The post Mini chocolate cakes appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Bursting Blueberry Crumb Cake! Think – blueberry crumble meets warm lemon cake with a crunchy buttery streusel topping and melty scoop of vanilla ice cream. It tastes even better than it sounds! 

Bursting Blueberry Crumb Cake

I’ve done my fair share of blueberry desserts but I’ve always wanted to do a cake with an outrageous amount of blueberries in it. As in, BURSTING with blueberries. Not just studded. I dreamed of a blueberry crumble, except in cake form. (Yes, these are the thoughts that occupy my mind at night).

The question really was just how much blueberries I could bake into a cake without weighing down the sponge so much it became dense.

I peaked out at 500g (1lb). That’s almost double the typical amount used in most Blueberry Crumb Cakes.

And with extra blueberries comes extra streusel, that crumbly crunchy caramel top. I guess sometimes dreams can come true!!

Ingredients in Bursting Blueberry Crumb Cake

Here’s what you need to make this.

The blueberries

The blueberries are tossed in a little flour and sugar so it forms a jam-like layer that mostly suspends on the surface of the cake. The lemon is used to provide wetness to make some of the flour stick to the blueberries.

You will find that not all the flour sticks to the blueberries. Be sure to scatter it all across the blueberry layer. We need the full 3 tablespoons of flour to ensure the blueberries don’t sink. Initial versions of the cake only used 1 tablespoon and the blueberries dispersed a little too much for my liking.

Frozen blueberries will work too! Use frozen because they bleed a lot when thawed.

The Crumb Topping

This is called a streusel in baking. It’s a mixture made with flour, sugar and butter combined to make a lumpy mixture that is used to add a terrific crunchy topping on the surface of cakes, muffins, bars etc.

No unusual players here. The only one worth noting is sugar. I prefer using caster sugar (superfine sugar) because the grains are finer so I can be confident that I won’t end up with sugar grains in the streusel. However, if you don’t have it, just substitute with regular sugar.

Lemon Cake

The Lemon Cake is adapted from the batter I use for my classic blueberry yogurt cake. However, the batter is a little sturdier built to withstand the combined 700g / 1.4lb of blueberries and streusel that we pile on top and still come out lovely and springy at the end.

PS I know that 700g/1.4 lb sounds like an insane amount of blueberries and streusel, but we do lose weight in liquid evaporation as it bakes.

• Flour – just plain / all purpose flour. It’s best to use plain flour and add baking powder rather than self raising flour. Cakes just never rise as well.

• Baking powder – This is what makes the cake rise. If yours is old, it’s best to check it’s still active! 

• Sour cream – This helps make the sponge lovely and moist because it adds wetness into the batter but it’s thicker than milk. So we can use less flour for the same volume of batter. Ensure the sour cream is at room temperature, ie not fridge cold, else it will not incorporate properly into the batter (eg it can make the melted butter solidfy. Yup, been there, done that!).

• Milk – Full fat is best though low fat will work fine too. As with the sour cream, ensure it’s not fridge cold. Take it out 30 minutes prior, or microwave for 10 seconds.

• Eggs –  Use large eggs which are ~55 – 60g / 2 oz each (they come in cartons labelled “large eggs”) at room temperature. See here for what this means, and a quick way to de-chill fridge cold eggs!

• Melted butter – Once melted, let it cool for a bit. It can still be warm, we just don’t want it to be super hot.

• Lemon zest – Zest the lemon before you squeeze out juice to coat the blueberries! It’s impossible to properly zest a lemon once it’s been squeeze of juice. We only use the zest because it adds lovely lemon flavour. The juice, on the other hand, mainly just adds sourness.

• Vanilla extract – Better flavour than imitation vanilla essence. I personally don’t use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste in cakes because I think it’s wasted. Save it for things like Crème Brûlée and Flan Pâtissier!

• Salt – Just a touch, to bring out the other flavours in the cake. Standard baking practice these days.

How to make Blueberry Crumb Cake

Streusel first (it’s a quick mix), then toss the blueberries, then make the batter last.

1. How to make Streusel

1. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt). Then add the melted butter and vanilla, and mix using a fork just until all the flour is wet but the mixture is still clumpy.

2. This is what you’re after. Lots and lots of lumps!

2. zest lemon fiRst, then toss the blueberries

1. Zest the lemon then keep it for the batter. Do this before juicing the lemon for the blueberries because it’s impossible to zest a lemon that’s been squeezed of juice!

2. Toss the blueberries in lemon juice first to wet the surface. Then toss with the flour and sugar. Then set aside until required.

3. The lemon cake batter

1. Line a 20cm / 8” springform cake pan with baking / parchment paper. See here for my easy way of doing it – no pencil required!

   It needs to be a springform pan so the cake can be removed without inverting (which would cause the crumbly topping to fall off!)

2. Whisk dry – Whisk the dry ingredient in a bowl (flour, baking powder and salt).

3. Whisk wet – Then in a larger bowl, give the sugar, vanilla, zest and eggs a good whisk for about 15 seconds until the surface is a bit foamy. Add the melted warm-not-hot butter and sour cream, then whisk until smooth. 

4. Add flour in 3 batches – Add one third of the flour then use a rubber spatula to fold it through. Once mostly incorporated, add half the remaining flour, fold through, then the remaining flour and fold through.

5. Milk last – When you can no longer see flour, add the milk and mix until incorporated. If you see tiny bits in the batter, it will be the zest not flour lumps! 

6. Batter thickness – This is what your batter should look like. Pourable but not super thin like my Chocolate Cake and not super thick like a muffin batter.

4. ASSEMBLING AND BAKING

1. Pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface.

2. Top with blueberries. For the most even spread, start from the outer edge then work your way in. If you start in the middle, the weight of the blueberries pushes the batter out and up the walls of the pan. But, don’t get too hung up on this step! This is a rustic cake, and the blueberry layer is always a bit of a pot-luck situation in terms of spottiness / jammy patches / how neat the line is (it is not, ever!).

3. Use residual flour – Make sure you tip the residual flour and sugar at the bottom of the blueberry bowl over the blueberries. We need all the flour to ensure the blueberries don’t sink (I had problems when I used slightly less flour). 

4. Streusel – Then cover the top with the streusel, using your fingers to make nice big lumps across the surface. Aim for around 85% coverage – it’s nice to have some jammy blueberries peeking through the golden brown crumbly topping!

   TIP: If you have powdery streusel at the bottom of the bowl, just clench a pile of it in your fist to make it clump together. Then break up into clumps and scatter! 

5. Bake for 65 minutes at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan-forced), rotating halfway to ensure the streusel browns evenly. 

   Note on oven temperature: it’s a little higher than the usual temperature for baking cakes because the blueberries and streusel add a thick protection layer so we need an extra blast of heat to cook the cake through. At the typical 180°C/350°F (160°C fan), the cake was taking 75 – 80 minutes and the sponge rose a smidge less.

6. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan to give it a chance to stabilise. Then unclip the sides and use a spatula to slide the cake onto a cooling rack. Cool for a further 10 minutes before slicing to serve warm (so the ice cream melts!), or fully cool and serve at room temperature.

Warm vs room temperature serving

If you want to be a normal, this cake can be served at room temperature, with optional ice cream or whipped cream on the side. That’s the normal way Crumb Cakes are served. It is delicious and the way this cake was originally intended to be.

But, for the ultimate Blueberry Crumb Cake experience, serve it warm with a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream on top. It is just such a comforting combination – the warm blueberries that burst in your mouth mingling with the cool creamy ice cream, the crunchy bits of caramel-y streusel topping and the soft cake (which gets softer when warm!) with the hint of fresh lemon flavour.

I am firmly planted on the warm-serving side. Try it once, and I think you will be too! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Bursting Blueberry Crumb Cake

Recipe video above. With almost double the blueberries of normal recipes and extra crunchy streusel topping, this Blueberry Crumb Cake is like a blueberry crumble on a soft, warm lemon cake. Melty scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is perfection!

Please ensure your eggs, sour cream and milk are not fridge cold as they will not incorporate into the batter properly.

Course Cake

Cuisine Western

Keyword blueberry cake, blueberry crumb cake, crumb cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 12 – 12

Calories 324cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Crunch crumb (Streusel):

• 2/3 cups flour , plain/all-purpose
• ½ cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 60g / 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon vanilla cake:

• 1 1/3 cups flour , plain/all-purpose
• 2 tsp baking powder (if old, check it’s still active)
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 large eggs , at room temperature (what this means)
• 90 g / 6 tbsp unsalted butter , melted then cooled slightly (don’t use piping hot)
• 1/3 cup sour cream , at room temperature (sub plain yogurt)
• 1/3 cup milk , at room temperature (full fat best, low fat ok)

Blueberries:

• 500 g / 1 lb fresh blueberries (Note 1 for frozen)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 3 tbsp flour , plain/all-purpose

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan-forced). Line a 20cm springform pan with paper (here's how I do it).
• Crumb – Put the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and mix together with a fork. Then add the butter and vanilla, and use the fork to mix until all the flour is wet, then stop mixing. We want it lumpy and crumbly!
• Zest the lemon first and put it aside for the batter before measuring out juice for the blueberry tossing.
• Blueberries – Toss the blueberries with lemon juice to wet the surface. Sprinkle with sugar and flour, toss to coat. Set aside.

Lemon vanilla cake:

• Whisk dry – Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Whisk wet – In a larger bowl, whisk the sugar, vanilla, zest and eggs until the surface is a bit foamy (~ 15 sec by hand). Add the butter and sour cream, whisk until smooth.
• Combine wet and dry – Switch to a rubber spatula. Add the flour in 3 batches, folding in between until the flour is mostly incorporated. Then add the milk and stir until combined. Some small lumps is ok!
• Assembling – Pour the batter into the pan. Scatter blueberries on top. Sprinkle any leftover flour at the bottom of the blueberry bowl on top of the blueberries. Cover with chunks of crumb, aiming for ~85% coverage. If necessary, enclose powdery bits in your fist to press them into clumps!
• Bake for 65 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (blueberry smear is ok!).
• Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Remove the cake from the springform pan then cool for at least another 10 minutes before cutting to serve.
• Serving – For the best blueberry crumble-cake experience, serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Otherwise, be normal and serve it at room temperature. Ice cream or cream also welcome here.

Notes

1. Frozen blueberries can be used too. Don’t thaw! Toss with the flour & sugar just before using (if you do it before making the batter it will start to melt). It will take an extra 10 minutes to bake. If the top starts to get overly brown, just cover with foil.

2.  Pan – Best to use a springform pan else you will lose streusel topping when inverting out of a standard cake pan.

3. Storage – Cake will keep for 5 days in the fridge. But always bring to room temp before serving, though best to serve slightly warm! If it’s quite cool where you are it will keep in the pantry too, in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Calories: 324cal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 426IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg

Life of Dozer

Me: in Brisbane, at the final Good Food & Wine Show for the year. Dozer: at the Golden Retriever Boarders’ house. She’s always a little offended because Dozer gives her husband a more enthusiastic greeting than she gets. 

She is a vegetarian. Her husband is a carnivore. Dozer is not subtle.

This is a photo she sent me yesterday of Dozer waiting at the gate to greet her husband when got home from work! 

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