Lemon and Blueberry Ripple Cake

I feel like whenever I am given fresh produce to cook with I have to cook with it straight away. It's just the excitement of having something that is home grown to bake or cook with. This time Nan and Grandad have come down, or up, whichever one it is to visit and with them they brought more blueberries from their garden. I already made some blueberry muffins with the last batch so I wanted to make something that we could enjoy with a cuppa and a catch up.

As a family of lemon lovers, I mean who isn't? Am I right? I have always been intrigued by the flavour combination of lemon and blueberry. When I rummage through Pinterest lemon and blueberry loafs always pop out at me and I have admired them from a far. With that flavour combo stuck in my head I headed to the kitchen and kind of just winged it.. I know I shouldn't really say that but in true bake off style the best ideas and bakes are of the winging variety.

I am loving the naked cake look at the mo! I just think it looks really elegant and simple yet so appealing to the eye. I wanted to make this cake look like the many naked cakes I have ogled over, sounds slightly wrong... I wanted the marble effect to show so I have left it plain on top with just a light sprinkling of icing sugar and frosting piped around the edge.


Ingredients

Blueberry Compote
Juice of Half A Lemon
1 Cup of Water
4 Tbsp Icing Sugar
150g Fresh or Frozen Blueberries

Lemon Sponge 
225g Butter
225g Caster Sugar
4 Medium Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
Juice of One Lemon
Zest of One Lemon
Blueberry Compote

Other Ingredients 
One Tub of Ready Made Vanilla Buttercream
35g White Chocolate
12 Blueberries

Icing Sugar To Finish

This recipe is full of little bits so allow a few hours to create this beautiful masterpiece. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C, Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two 20cm (8inch) sandwich tins.

First start by making the compote as it needs to cool before it can be used in the cake batter. Place all the ingredients into a pan and place on a high heat. Once the blueberries start to break down and it appears to boil turn the heat down to a low setting and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture looks like it is starting to thicken take it off the heat. Place a sieve on top of a bowl and pour the mixture through so that the compote is smooth. Put to one side and leave to cool.

The sponge is so easy to make and is a all in recipe so it takes no time at all. Place all the ingredients excluding the compote into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until well combined for 2-3 minutes. Distribute the mixture evenly between the two sandwich tins. Once the compote is cooled, drizzle four tbsp's over the cake mixture and then using a spoon swirl the mixture around so that it creates an marble effect. Repeat on the other tin and place in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown or that a skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tins to cool before turning out onto a wire rack.

Melt the white chocolate and then add two tsp in to the frosting, beat for around one minute. Place a large round nozzle into a disposable piping bag. Using a paintbrush, dip into the compote and paint strips in the inside of the piping bag as this will create a ripple effect when piping onto the cake. Carefully place the frosting inside the piping bag to avoid smudging, push down at the end and twist the piping bag so that no frosting escapes.

The final component is the white chocolate blueberries. Dip one side of a blueberry into the remaining white chocolate and place on a chilled plate. Once all the blueberries are covered place in the fridge so that they set.

Once the sponge has cooled place one side on a serving plate, take the piping bag and pipe individual blobs around the edge of the sponge. Place the second sponge on top and sprinkle with icing sugar. Repeat the frosting around the edge, drizzle the compote over each blob and then place a white chocolate blueberry on top.