Lemon-Raspberry Cake

Citrus and berries are a classic flavour combination and this loaf cake is the perfect way to bring these gorgeous summer favourites together. Citrus desserts are an absolute delight when baked right, simply infusing the batter with zest results in a lovely moist lemony sponge that’s made even better when drizzled with a lush red raspberry coulis. This one’s a simple recipe that doesn’t fail to impress at a weekend Mother’s Day brunch!

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the batter:

• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• 1 ¼ cups caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Raspberry wine coulis: 

• 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (adjust as per taste)
• 2 tablespoons white wine or framboise liquor *(optional)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a large mixing bowl, sieve in the dry ingredients; plain flour, baking powder and sea salt. In another bowl, add in the sugar, vegetable oil and eggs and whisk until pale.

Add the buttermilk into the wet ingredients and fold through evenly.

Next, incorporate the pale batter into the dry ingredients and fold through thoroughly until the the batter has a smooth consistency.

Lightly grease the loaf tin with butter and line with parchment paper.

Pour the batter into the tin and let it rest.

While that rests, move on to making the coulis. You can find the method in one of my previous posts: Raspberry wine coulis

Drizzle over some of the raspberry coulis and with the help of a toothpick swirl it over the top of the batter. I didn’t quite get this right myself as I was in a bit of a rush at the time, but if you do it right you achieve a lovely red swirl that tops your loaf.

Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted through the centre of the loaf.

Once out of the oven, leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve with the leftover raspberry coulis!

 

 

PRESSURE POINTS

DO NOT over whisk the batter! I’ve done it before myself, get super enthusiastic and whisk to your heart’s content and all you end up with is an unpleasant dense rubbery sponge. Gently fold through and you’ll be sure to avoid that!

When drizzling the coulis over the top of the batter, avoid putting too much thought into it. Just swirl it and let the oven do the work for you.

If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to see how it turned out. Leave a comment below and share your pictures on Instagram using the tag #thecookbooklife!

Happy baking!

Nikita xx

 

 

 

 

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