Inspired by a recipe found on the BBC GoodFood website, I decided to adapt it to make use of a glut of homegrown blackcurrants. I have a couple more favourite blackcurrant cake recipes but I think this one trumps them all.
I have made lemon drizzle cakes many times but not a blackcurrant one and I was not disappointed! It has the same crunchy sugar coating as a lemon drizzle, with a moist and buttery inside dotted with the deliciously sweet but tart blackcurrants. A layer of blackcurrants on top really makes this easy cake not only delicious but also very more-ish!
And of course I use eggs from our own free-roaming hens' with deep yellow yolks to give this loaf extra richness. It goes perfectly with a cup of tea, shared with friends, outside on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
First, I heat my fan oven at 160C (it bakes well in non-fan ovens, just increase the temperature to 180C) then line a loaf tin with baking parchment. Then, I prepare 180g of blackcurrants (I mean that I just give them a quick rinse and pat dry).
In my electric mixer, I put 175g of softened butter, 175g of golden caster sugar, 250g of self-raising flour (gluten-free flour also works here), 2 large eggs and 2 tsp of vanilla extract, which I beat for around 5 mins until the mixture is pale, creamy and very thick.
Then, I put 1/3 of the cake mixture into the prepared tin, followed by 60g of the blackcurrants, another 1/3 of the cake mix on top of these and I top with another 60g of blackcurrants. I finish with the rest of the cake mix which I gently spread and flatten with the back of a spoon. I bake this loaf for 1 hr. It is ready when an inserted skewer comes out clean.
The third step is about making the drizzle. When the cake is still hot, I pierce holes all over the top with a skewer. Then, in a small bowl, I mix the remaining blackcurrants with 130g of granulated sugar and add in 1 tbsp of lemon juice first, mashing the fruit as I stir with a fork. If it’s a bit dry, I add a little more lemon juice. Then, with a spoon, I spread the drizzle all over the cake.
I leave the cake in the tin until it is cool and the topping is set and crisp.
Voila... an irresistible cake, full of the flavours of high Summer, that soon becomes crumbs!!