Your christmas recipe from Flavours with Cathy

Blackberry and fig Lemon Cake recipe

I used a 6″ X 2″ round cake pan

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 33 MINUTES

SERVINGS: 8

INGREDIENTS

BLACKBERRY AND FIG LEMON CAKE

         2 cup unsalted butter (softened)

         8 eggs (large eggs)

         1 cup sour cream

         3 teaspoons baking powder

         2 teaspoon baking soda

         1/2 teaspoon salt

         5 cups Cake Purpose Flour (you can use all purpose flour)

         4 cups Sugar

         2 cup fresh blackberries tossed in flour

         2 cup of fig ( pealed)

         1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

         2 tablespoons lemon zest

LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

         4 cups heavy whipping cream

         2 cups icing sugar

         1/4 cup lemon juice (or lemon extract)

         1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

         2 cups of cream cheese

BLACKBERRY JAM

         2 cups fresh blackberries

         1/2 cup sugar

         1 tablespoon lemon juice

         1 tablespoon corn starch

         1/4 cup water

CARAMEL SAUCE

This creamy caramel filling is luxury on its own with a velvet texture. This simple and easy recipe takes no more than 15 minutes to make and will have you using it as a cake filling, tart filling, pie filling, macaroon, cookies or cupcakes. Made with condensed milk and golden syrup, this is absolute heaven. But today we are using it to top the raspberries and fig delicious lemon cake.

         ½ cup Light Brown sugar

         ¼ cup Golden syrup

         ¼ cup Butter

         1 Can 440ml of Sweetened Condensed milk

         1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven 180 degrees. Make sure all your wet ingredients are at room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, stir cream butter and sugar until smooth and lump free. Do not rush this process and just take it slow. This may take 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
3. Add the lemon juice and mix. Butter may curdle but do not be alarmed. At the end, the butter will become smooth again.
4. In a separate bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Then add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Then add all of the sour cream and mix. Then fold in the remaining dry mixture and mix until butter is smooth and lump free. Try not to over mix the butter.
5. Add the fresh blackberries tossed in flour and figs and fold into the butter until fully incorporated.
6. Divide the butter into three pans buttered and lined with baking paper. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before flipping onto a wired rack to cool completely before frosting. When still waiting for the cake to cool completely start making your jam and caramel sauce.

BLACKBERRIES JAM

8. In a medium sauce pan on low to medium heat, add the fresh blackberries, sugar and lemon juice. Add the water and corn starch to a medium size cup and whisk until the corn starch has fully dissolved. Then pour the corn starch water mixture into the pan
9. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil stirring constantly. Once the mixture is boiling, go ahead and reduce the heat and cook the jam for about 5-8 minutes or until it has thickened.
10. Once the mixture has thickened, transfer the jam to a heat proof dish and cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 1-2 hours or until it has cooled completely before you use it to decorate the cake.

CARAMEL SAUCE

11. Place brown sugar, golden syrup, and butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
12. Reduce the heat and continue to cook until the mixture becomes darker in color. This takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
13. Next, reduce the heat to low. Add the condensed milk and let come to a boil on low heat again.
14. Cook on low for about another minute or two stirring constantly. The mixture will get thicker. Add the vanilla extract and take it off the heat.
15. Set aside to cool slightly before you pour into a cake top.

Now the last and exciting step of assembling and decorating a cake.

To assemble the cake, begin by adding a couple of large spoons of the frosting at the centre of the first cake and then add a couple of spoons of the raspberry jam (you can find the recipe above) and spread. Then place the second cake, repeat the first step and lastly place the last third cake on top carefully. Add a couple of large spoons of the frosting and begin coating the top and the edges of the cake with a frosting spatula. I used a cake scraper as well to clean the edges and remove access frosting. Pour and drizzle the caramel sauce on the top of the cake, decorate the top of the cake with washed and dried fresh blackberries, quartered fresh figs and pomegranates seeds.