Superfruits: Jamie Oliver's Blueberry Cake Recipe

As mentioned in my previous posting, I love blueberries. As they are now in season, there is a great abundance of them around, and so I've been experimenting with various ways to enjoy them.

Of course blueberries on their own or with a little cream/crème fraiche are great, and I do enjoy eating them this way.  Although they are not as fragile as raspberries for example, they do eventually begin to go mouldy, and therefore I've decided to share some of the recipes I've tried out for using up the excess.

Blueberries are on the list of "superfruits," like pomegranates and watermelon because of the high levels of antioxidants they contain.  Antioxidants are known for their anti-aging effects (while repairing cell damage).  There is also evidence to support their effects on other signs of aging such as memory recall and motor skills.
Blueberries are also rich in vitamins A, C, E and K.  I should point out, that like all fruit and veg, the greatest nutritional benefits are gained by eating them fresh and raw, but a few more fruit pud recipes never go amiss!

So, on to the Blueberry Cake.  It is a lovely, moist cake, which has a nice lemony flavour.   This tartness balances out the sweetness of the blueberries very nicely.  The cake is excellent with some fresh yoghurt, or ice cream (for a little further indulgence).

Blueberry Cake Recipe
225g butter
220g caster sugar
3 eggs
300g self-raising flour
grated zest and juice on one lemon
400-500g fresh blueberries


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 175C (that's 155C fan-assisted and 347F)  Butter and flour a 25cm spring-form* tin, and line base with greased greaseproof paper

2. Cream butter and sugar and then add eggs one at a time, beating until light and fluffy

3. Gradually beat in the flour, lemon zest and juice.

4. Arrange berries in a single layer at the bottom of the tin and then spoon cake batter over them.

5. Bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours (was done in 1hr 15 min for me) or until skewer comes out clean.

6.  Rest in tin for five minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool.  Remove greaseproof paper when the cake is cool!

*I used a regular 25cm cake tin when I realised my spring-form was too small, just made 'handles' out of extra lengths of greaseproof to ease removal


The key, as with all desserts, is to enjoy!