Blackberry regal cake

I normally shy away from recipes that have 'parts' to them. I'm more of a 'chuck it in and mix it around' chef.

But after our fourth blackberry hunt this morning, which resulted in a bumper crop, I decided to do a slightly more posh recipe for Sunday pudding. It was originally called blackberry and coconut cake, but hubby decided it looked like a Royal Crown so renamed it to Blackberry Regal Cake

This recipe has 4 parts to it and is adapted from the fab Veg box recipes site for blackberry and coconut slice:

1. Prepare the blackberries
2. Make the base
3. Make the topping
4. Assemble the cake and bake
   

Blackberry regal cake

Ingredients

For the base

• 150 gm butter
• 50 gm fructose
• 1 egg
• 200 gm plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 70-100mls milk
  

For the blackberry layer

• 500gm blackberries
• 40 gms fructose
  

For the topping

• 100 gm butter
• 50 gm fructose
• 2 eggs
• 50 gm plain flour
• 200 gm dessicated coconut
  

Method

Make the blackberry layer

• Put the blackberries and the 40 gms fructose into a saucepan.
• Bring to the boil slowly, then put a lid on and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Take the lid off and allow to thicken (I simply drained off the excess juice into a cup because I needed the oven for Sunday Lunch and chucked a bit of cornflour in there to thicken it)

Make the base

• Preheat the oven to 180.
• While the blackberries are cooking make the base.
• Cream together the butter and fructose
• Beat in 1 egg until you get a smooth batter
• Add the flour, baking powder and a little of the milk at a time until you get a thick, dropping consistency batter.
• Put this into the bottom of a greased deep cake tin and smooth over

Make the topping

• While the blackberries are still cooking make the topping.
• Cream together the butter and fructose
• Add the eggs and beat until you get a smooth batter
• Add the flour and coconut and mix well into a very stiff 'paste'

Assemble the cake

• Over the base of the cake, smooth the cooked blackberries
• Very carefully put the topping on. The topping is very stiff, so try and smooth it over with a knife but be gentle otherwise it will squash into the blackberries!

Bake the cake

• Bake at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes until golden on the top.
• We served it warm with custard and will eat it cold with creme fraiche tomorrow!
  

Verdict:
8 1/2 out of 10. I love it Mummy, the cake is yummy, the blackberries are delicious. I love the crunchy coconut. It's a bit filling though and a tiny bit too sweet.