Baking
To make the frosting you will need:
Start of Summer Cake: Blueberry and Lemon Sponge with Cardamom Mascarpone Frosting
Summer is finally here! I spent the weekend lounging in the garden, walking in the woods amongst the bluebells, and making cake! This blueberry and lemon cake with cardamom mascarpone frosting is the perfect cake to make on lazy summer days. The flavours all work beautifully together. The lemon and blueberry sponge is a classic but I've added a subtle cardamom flavour to the frosting to give it a little twist.
For the sponge you will need:
- 175 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 225 g caster sugar
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 ml milk, room temperature
- 2 1/2 lemons, zest and juice
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 340 g flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 150 g blueberries, washed and dried
Preheat your oven to 170 C. In a large bowl beat the butter until smooth. After about a minute of beating, add the sugars. Beat for around 5 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. It is important that your butter and eggs are at room temperature otherwise the mixture will curdle.
In a bowl mix the vanilla extract, milk, lemon juice and zest. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the large bowl, mix until just combined. Add half of the liquid and mix until just combined. Continue this process until you have a third of the flour mixture left.
Stir the blueberries in with your remaining dry ingredients until coated. Add these to the mixture and fold until just combined. Coating the blueberries in flour will, hopefully, prevent them from sinking to the bottom of your cake.
Prepare your cake tins by greasing them and lining their bases with greaseproof paper. Spoon your mixture into your tins and smooth the mixture to make the cakes even. Pop them in the oven for around 25-30 minutes until the cakes are lightly golden and an inserted skewer remains clean.
Leave your cakes in their tins for 20 minutes before turning out onto your wire rack to cool completely. The blueberries should make your cake resemble blue cheese. The cakes should smell gorgeous, don't be tempted to eat it all now. The frosting is definitely worth the wait.
- 170 g unsalted butter
- 125 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp ground cardamom (I ground cardamom seeds using a mortar and pestle)
- 240 ml mascarpone
- 60 ml greek yogurt
Using an electric whisk, beat the butter, icing sugar and ground cardamom until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the mascarpone and yoghurt until just combined. The icing should be smooth and fluffy. Mine curdled a little because it was so warm in my kitchen. To prevent curdling make sure your ingredients are very cold. Sandwich your cakes together with the icing. Top with more icing and your choice of toppings. I decorated mine with blueberries, lemon zest and almonds and sprinkled with grated chocolate and icing sugar. I'm definitely not a pro at icing cakes but the amazing taste definitely makes up for the messy appearance!
Cut the cake into slices and share with your family in the sun!
Love Rhiannon x
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