With summer now here and temperatures soaring, many Britons are getting out in the garden and enjoying a barbecue in the sunshine.
After a couple of sausages and a burger from the barbecue, there really is nothing better than a sweet treat.
Rather than reaching for an ice cream or making a fiddly pavlova, you could try making Nigella Lawson’s “easy” lemon cake with blueberry compote.
The food writer said of the recipe on her website: “This cake has a miraculous texture — almost like a super-aerated fluffy pancake — and a delicate flavour; it is scented with lemon rather than tingling with it.
“And even though there is coconut milk in the cake, this comes through as sweetness rather than tropical exuberance.
“For all that it is a tripartite affair, it is ridiculously easy to make: the perfect pudding when friends come round for supper.”
The recipe, which is from Nigella’s book, AT MY TABLE, serves eight to 12 people and can be baked in 30 minutes.
How to make Nigella Lawson’s lemon cake with blueberry compote
Ingredients
For the cake:
225 grams plain flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
Half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Half teaspoon fine sea salt
150 millilitres vegetable oil (plus more for greasing)
150 grams caster sugar
275 grams coconut milk (see recipe introduction)
Two unwaxed lemons (finely grated zest, plus 3 x 15ml tablespoons of juice)
One teaspoon vanilla extract
For the compote:
150 grams blueberries
One x 15ml tablespoon fresh lemon juice
One x 15ml tablespoon caster sugar
1½ teaspoons cornflour
For the topping:
250 grams coconut milk yogurt
One teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ teaspoons icing sugar
Method
1. First, preheat the oven to 180C and grease the sides and line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin or eight-inch springform cake pan.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. In a large jug or bowl, whisk the oil, sugar and coconut milk together, before adding the lemon zest and juice and the vanilla extract.
4. Next, pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine before pouring the lot into the cake tin. Bake for 30 to 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cook in ints tin before removing. It may sink but this is normal.
5. Now it’s time to make the compote. First, put the blueberries, lemon juice, caster sugar and 50ml / 3 tablespoons of cold water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the pan down to a simmer and stir gently for a few minutes until the blueberries are soft.
6. Remove the pan from the heat. Mix together the cornflour with 1.5 teaspoons of cold water in a separate cup until thick. Add this paste to the blueberries and stir together. Pop it back on the heat for 30 seconds or until the sauce has thickened. Add more water if it has become too thick. Once made, pour it into a small heatproof jug to cool.
7. Now it’s time to assemble the cake. To do this, first remove the cake from the cake tin, turning it upside down into a plate or stand.
8. Mix the coconut-milk yoghurt and vanilla together and spoon icing sugar into a sieve before sprinkling it over the yoghurt mix. Spread the topping over the cake. Spoon the compote on top and serve immediately.
