Its been a frustrating week of unknowns but what can be guaranteed- as so rightly put by Julie from ‘Julie & Julia’- is that at the end of the day you can always rely on eggs, sugar, butter and flour producing something delicious. Chuck in some gooey lime syrup, some sharp mouthwateringly-tart blackcurrant puree and the soothing sweet sugary hug of a palate knife of white chocolate buttercream and you’ve got yourself the solution to any first world trauma…(excluding obesity….!) With too many handpicked blackcurrants from the allotment to fit in the freezer- yes the frozen joints of meat and 2 year old pack of fish fingers for those emergencies had to be sacrificed- it was time for the blackcurrants to earn their keep. With a vat of blackcurrant sorbet and enough jam to keep a Frenchman happy, it was time to use them in a new recipe.
If you can’t get hold of blackcurrants (get in touch, our crop would supply international orders) then blackberries would be good too but the tart sharpness of the blackcurrants is really lovely with the white chocolate.
Serves….many!
Cake
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 225g self raising flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 zest lime
- 85g caster sugar
- 6 tbsp juice (about 1 ½ limes)
Fillings
- 300g blackcurrants
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g white chocolate
- 140g unsalted butter, softened
- 140g icing sugar, sieved
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two small (16cm) cake tins.
- Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and creamy. Add in the beaten eggs one at a time followed by the lime zest.
- Sieve in the flour and fold in to combine.
- Spoon into the tins and even out. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until just cooked and springy to touch.
- While they are baking, combine the 85g caster sugar, and the lime juice and warm over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. As soon as the cakes come out the oven, prick all over with a tooth pick and spoon the syrup over the two cakes, allowing it to seep into the holes. Leave to cool COMPLETELY in their tins before turning out.
- For the blackcurrant puree, wash the blackcurrants so they retain a bit of water on their skins and heat with the sugar in a pan over a medium heat until they begin to burst and soften and turn a little syrupy. Don’t boil and obliterate them, as soon as they start to simmer, remove from the heat. Puree in a food processor or the like until smooth.
- Tip into a sieve and strain out the pips and skins to achieve a smooth glossy puree. You should get about 180g (ish).Chill until needed.
- For the butter cream, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Give it a beating if it is a bit lumpy to get a smooth melted chocolate. Leave to cool a little.
- Combine the sieved icing sugar and softened butter until smooth and then beat in the melted chocolate. Set aside until needed.
- Only when the cakes are completely cold, slice each into half horizontally to get 4 layers. Place one layer on a cake stand and then spread ¼ of the buttercream evenly over followed by a generous spoonful (just under 1/3) of the blackcurrant puree. Place another layer on top and repeat, finishing with a top layer of buttercream if you like.
- Sit back and admire your effort before devouring.