Blueberry Spring Cleaning Cake

As you can imagine, with the amount of ingredients I regularly get through I often find myself with a few handfuls of this and that left over in the store cupboard. So this one was the result of a bit of a spring clean of what I had sitting around. Don't let that put you off though, as the result is quite the show stopper, with a beautifully soft and delicate crumb and deep, complex flavour. It went down a treat when I served it recently I suggest you give it a crack forthwith!

Prep time: 20 Mins

Baking time: 55-60 Mins

175g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

150g Caster Sugar

50g Light Muscovado Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1tsp Lemon Extract

1tsp Orange Extract

75g Ground Almonds

150g Self Raising Flour

1/2tsp Baking Powder

2tbsp Milk

275g Fresh Blueberries

1-2tbsp Icing Sugar

Let's get baking! Preheat the oven the 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 20cm deep cake tin and line with baking paper. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugars, then beat in the eggs one at a time along with all three extracts. Add the ground almonds, then sift in the flour and baking powder. Pour in the milk and mix to a smooth, consistent batter. Fold through 200g of the blueberries, spoon into your prepared tin and even to the edges. Scatter over the rest of the blueberries and gently press each into the surface of the mixture. Bake in the centre of the oven for around an hour, until risen, deep golden on top and a metal skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. When you are happy the cake is baked remove from the oven, leave in the tin for around 15-20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper.

When the cake is cool dust liberally with icing sugar and you are ready to slice and serve. Boom, all finished!