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Hazelnut, Lemon and Blueberry Layer Cake


Is it really June already? Has May been and gone?

Oh, God.

I feel a bit like John Lennon when he told Yoko that he was only going out for a packet of fags.

It seems that time is getting the better of me at the moment. There just seems to be too much to do and not enough time to do it. Anyway, I hope you've all been having a great time - especially as we seem to have had a bit of summer at last.

So after my impromptu break, I managed to get back into the kitchen today and tried my hand at some new recipes.


This one is a gorgeously moreish layer cake. It uses spelt flour and toasted, ground hazelnuts to give a lovely, nutty taste to the sponge which is lifted by the tang of lemon zest. I used a cream cheese frosting to balance out some of the sugar, and as you can see, the top is loaded with fresh, juicy blueberries.

 
I really loved the combination of flavours.

Very nice with an afternoon cuppa.


Hazelnut, Lemon and Blueberry Layer Cake (adapted from 'Love Bake Nourish' by Amber Rose)

Ingredients

115g toasted, ground hazelnuts
260g softened unsalted butter
225g white spelt flour
2 tspns baking powder
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
130g golden caster sugar
130g maple syrup
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

For the frosting
150g cream cheese at room temperature (I used Philadelphia Original)
100g softened unsalted butter
350g icing sugar
1 tbspn lemon juice
2 tbspns Blueberry Conserve (I used Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry)

200g fresh blueberries
Dusting of icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 160 Fan / 180 conventional / 350 Fahrenheit / Gas 4.

Grease and base line two 20 cm / 8 inch loose bottomed cake tins.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.

Place the butter and caster sugar into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until soft and fluffy. Add the beaten egg a little at a time (add a little flour if the mix starts to look curdled), and then add the maple syrup.

Gently mix in the flour and baking powder, along with the ground hazelnuts. [You can make your own ground hazelnuts by roasting 115g hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes, then piling into a tea towel and giving them a good rub to remove the skins before blitzing them in a food processor. But I managed to get some ready prepared from Wally's Deli in Cardiff. Do look out for them on sale. If you can find them they save you a lot of faffing around.]


Share the batter evenly between the cake tins, and bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes. The cakes should be risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, before turning out of the tins and allowing to cool completely.


To make the frosting, cream the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle for a minute or so, until they become smooth. Add the icing sugar a little at a time, until you have a smooth, spreading consistency. Add the lemon juice. Gently swirl through the jam, and then use to sandwich the cakes together, and the frost the top layer. [The original recipe uses whipped cream flavoured with the jam and some honey, which you can go with if you like. I just fancied something a bit sharper, especially as Mike isn't a big fan of whipped cream.]

Luxuriously pile the top with fresh blueberries, and then give them a little dusting of icing
sugar.


Enjoy.

And just try and keep the smile off your face.

Susie




As there are a number of blogging challenges around this month that this will fit in with, I'm going to enter it in this month's Tea Time Treats, which is being hosted by Kate over at What Kate Baked, and co-organised by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage. This month's theme is Layer Cakes, so I think this one fits the bill pretty well.


I'm also entering it into a new challenge, organised by Victoria at A Kick at the Pantry Door, called Feel Good Food. This month's theme is blueberries, so again, this fits in well there.


Finally, this month's Calendar Cakes, organised by Laura at Laura Loves Cakes, and this month's host, Rachel at DollyBakes, is based around jam. Well, with the fruity blueberry conserve in this lovely frosting, I reckon that just about counts (fingers crossed).

Comments

  1. What a beautiful cake - I would happily bake with blueberries every week if my family loved them as much as I do!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks CC. Wish they appealed to the younger element of my family. Unfortunately, for them, they don't come chocolate flavoured :(

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  2. Beautiful cake, those blueberries look so juicy on top. I'd definitely like a piece of this with my afternoon cuppa :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jen. Juicy blueberries always hit the spot with me! :)

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  3. What a great looking cake and a great combo of flavours.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Denise - hadn't tried them before but they work really well together. Even better on day 2 as they meld together a bit more! :)

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  4. This sounds beautiful. I only wish I had the ingredients for it now - I want a slice right NOW! :)

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  5. Yum...this definitely counts as a jammy bake! It looks delicious and I love the fresh blueberries along with the conserve too! Thanks for entering it into this month's Calendar Cakes :-)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Laura, glad you feel it fits in with the theme! :)

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  6. This looks fab, your cakes always come out so good! What tins do you use? They seem deeper than regular sandwich tins.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kat, they are Alan Silverwood tins, which are an inch and a half deep. I've had them over 20 years and I love them - gradually building a set from 6" diameter up to 10". Really good quality and have never let me down. :)

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  7. I absolutely love the list of ingredients in this - spelt flour, maple syrup, juicy blueberries - yum! I've been wondering whether to buy Amber's book - would you recommend the rest of the recipes?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kate.

      The book is lovely - it's been my first introduction to spelt flour and other 'healthier' ingredients for baking, so a bit of an eye opener for me. There's a lot I'd like to try (and have made spelt pastry so far - really loved that). It's very inspiring and - given what I've seen on your blog - I could see it being right up your street.

      Hope that helps! :)

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  8. Sue this is a serious showstopper of a cake! It looks fabulous, and I love all the goodness in the spelt flour, hazelnuts, maple syrup and blueberries, this is one tasty looking nutritious cake! Perfect guilt free accompaniment to a cuppa I think. Thank you so much for entering the Feel Good Food challenge :-) x

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Victoria - glad you like it for Feel Good Food! :)

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  9. Lovely berrilicious layer cake ! Love the combo & so in season! YUM!

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  10. Nice to see you back! This looks perfectly delicious and what a great idea of mixing jam with the cream cheese for the icing - will definitely be trying this one!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Katharine - it works well as a quick way to flavour the icing. Will be keeping that tip in mind for future bakes, for sure! :)

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  11. Hazelnut cakes are a favourite of mine and I love lemon and blueberries too. This sounds delicious and I am intrigued by the inclusion of maple syrup in the batter. Mmmm! Thanks for sharing. I will be making it soon. PS it is beautiful too.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you - it certainly worked as a lovely combination of flavours. The maple syrup gives a lovely note to the batter. Glad you liked it :)

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  12. You had me at that very first gorgeous photo... Lovely, lovely bake and thank you for entering it into TTT!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kate - it was a great theme this month. Looking forward to seeing all the other entries.:)

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  13. Wow that looks beautiful! The combination of flavours sounds absolutely gorgeous.

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  14. I made this at the weekend and it was fabulous. Thank you.

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  15. I made this last night for a Charity Cake Sale but I forgot the lemon! Hope it tastes just as good!

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  16. If i don't have spelt flour what could i use as an alternative ?

    Also could it be made in a bundt mould do you think ?

    ReplyDelete

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