Tuesday, June 19, 2012

5. Fruit & Berry Cake


All the world is a birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.”- George Harrison (The Beatles)

This is one special tradition that I enjoy having around- the birthday girl gets to make her own birthday cake. May not sound exciting to bake for oneself. Not for me, though. Birthdays have become a reminder of how I have grown up from the little girl who peeked at the scores of cakes at the bakers' unsure of what to choose to the amateur baker who is all excited at experimenting new flavours and baking it the way it pleases me. I opted out of the regular chocolate and vanilla indulgence and took to a very berry, healthy cake instead. Frozen berries- a mix of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries added just the right measure of moistness while keeping the crust crunchy. The plump strawberry garnish and the little frills of buttercream added a birthday feel to the cake. However, when some unexpected friends showed up, we all had a little more than one piece of the cake to relish. I was happy to share but happier that it gave me an excuse to try the same recipe as cupcakes the following week.


Fruit & Berry Cake
(Recipe adapted from Baking Bites.com)
Serves 12

1 1/2 cups (195 g) all-purpose flour
4 tablespoon (40g) cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) plain yoghurt
200 g frozen berry mix (raspberry, blackberry & blueberry)- tossed with 2 teaspoon flour
25 g fresh strawberry- tossed with 1 teaspoon flour

1. Grease, line with parchment and flour a 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350o F (177o C).

2. Sieve flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and keep aside. 

3. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl, on medium speed for a minute with a hand mixer till light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat 30 seconds for each addition. Add vanilla essence and beat to combine.

5. Add the yoghurt and flour mixture alternately in 2-3 additions on low speed to fully combine.

6. Pour 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. 

7. Fold in the frozen and fresh berry into the remaining 1/3 batter and spread it evenly over the batter in the pan. Bake for 50- 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

8. Serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

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