Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s simple blueberry sour cream cake

Name: Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s simple blueberry sour cream cake
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g caster sugar; zest of 1 lemon; 3 eggs; 150ml light-flavoured extra virgin olive oil; 250ml full-fat sour cream; 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract; 250g self-raising flour; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp ground cardamom; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 150g blueberries, plus extra to serve; icing sugar, to serve

Julia Busuttil Nishimura

May 26, 2023

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:12

Scented with lemon and vanilla and topped with blueberries, this is the perfect cake for afternoon tea. The berries hold their shape and give the cake beautiful streaks of purple when it’s cut.

Rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar allows its oils to be released, resulting in a more intense lemon flavour.

Ingredients

250g caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs
150ml light-flavoured extra virgin olive oil
250ml full-fat sour cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground cinnamon
150g blueberries, plus extra to serve
icing sugar, to serve

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 175C fan-forced (195C conventional) and grease and line a 23cm, round springform cake tin.
Step 2
Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers until the grains are damp and fragrant. Add the eggs and whisk to combine. Whisk in the oil, sour cream and vanilla.
Step 3
Sift in the flour, salt, cardamom and cinnamon and whisk until just combined.
Step 4
Pour into the prepared tin and top with the blueberries. They should mostly sit on top of the batter.
Step 5
Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until the top springs back when touched. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out of the tin onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Step 6
Dust with icing sugar and serve with extra blueberries.