Blueberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Looks yummy but challenging?  Actually, it is easily achieved.  One of my favourite recipes when I want to load up on antioxidants -- blueberries.  Now is blueberry season.  Best time to try this recipe!


Blueberry soured cream cake with cheesecake frosting
CUTS INTO 10 SLICES *  PREP 25-35 MINS * COOK 50 MINS


For the Cake:
175 g  Butter, softened
160 g  Golden Caster Sugar
3         Eggs
225 g   Self-Raising Flour
2 tsp   Vanilla Extract
142ml  Sour Cream
400 g    Blueberries


For the cheesecake frosting
200g    Cream Cheese (I recommend Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese.)
80 g    Icing Sugar
some lemon zest or orange zest


Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160 fan.  Butter and line the base of a lose-based 22cm round cake tin with some non-stick baking paper, or, use my variation, with the 10 3/4 " or 72cm Silicon Ring Mould.  Make sure you grease your mould with some butter, and allow for 50mm space between the edge of the bake-ware and the oven's internal walls.
2. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla in a bowl.  Beat with a wooden spoon or an electric hand whisk for 1-2 minutes, until mixture turns lighter in colour and well mixed.  Beat in 4 tbsp of sour cream, then stir in half the blueberries with a large spoon or spatula.
3. Tip the mixture into the tin and spread it level.  Bake for 50 minutes until it is risen, feels firm to touch and springs back when lightly pressed. A good test will be what I call a "dip-stick test", where you stick a baking prick or a fine bamboo skewer into the centre, and it comes out clean, with no batter.  Cool for 10 minutes, then take it out of the tin and peel off the paper.  If you use the silicon ring mould, peel off the mould to push the cake out of the mould.  Leave it to cool on the wire-rack, inverted.  
4. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar, lemon zest and the remaining sour cream in a bowl until smooth and creamy.  To make lemon or orange zest, simply grate lemon or orange peel on a fine grater.  Spread over the top of the cooled cake. (Make sure the cake is cool, because the frosting will melt if the cake is still warm.) Scatter the remaining blueberries as toppings.  The cake will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.  Bring it to room temperature for about 1 hour before serving.

PER SLICE 

469 kcals, protein 6g, carbohydrates 50g, fat 29g, saturated fat 17g, sugar <29g (due to slight adjustments from original recipe), salt 0.93g.

LOW SUGAR ADJUSTMENT:
For people who don't really like their cakes too sweet, you may adjust your sugar level as low as 100g.  Some may wish to cut sugar until 80g.  But be sure not to reduce below this amount, as it will compromise the quality of the cake.  


Cooking tip for a really moist cake:
Bake your cake Bain Marie.  Set up a pan of water below the the cake, to increase moisture in the oven.