A Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Cake...

And some good news!

Shall we get the news out of the way first?

We have finally exchanged contracts and in a little over weeks time we will be in our new home. I had got to a stage where I never believed it was going to happen so I’m definitely wearing my happy pants this week. Smiles all round are the order of the day! And maybe even a cake to celebrate.

So now for that cake.

It's time again to join in with the Cake Slice Bakers (all the details are below). With the house taking up so much time I didn't manage to join in last month and almost didn't this month - this post is already three days late. I remember why I took a break from joining in with the Cake Slice Bakers last year... much as I love baking I often find the choices too complicated for my busy life, with too much frosting and frequently too sweet. And then I'm never that good at writing a post in time and doing all the links etc. But there was one cake this month that sounded too good to miss. Simple to put together, no fancy assembly required, no elaborate decorating. It's an everyday cake, good to eat at anytime of day and far too good not to share the recipe. The only downside is you are likely to eat too much of it in one sitting... a second slice is so tempting!  It is packed full of luscious jammy blueberries, flavoured with a subtle hint of lemon and the ricotta makes it unbelievably light. I don't think I have ever used ricotta in a cake before... who knew!

Blueberry  Lemon Ricotta Tea Cake

300g fresh blueberries

2 tbsp cornflour

227g softened butter

200g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste

zest of 2 lemons

4 large eggs

250g tub ricotta cheese

250g plain flour, sieved

48g ground almonds

4 tsp baking powder

icing sugar for dusting.

1. Preheat the oven to 170 deg C (150 fan) and grease and line a 23 cm springform pan
2. Wash and dry the blueberries and toss them in the cornflour. Set aside
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time with a little of the flour and beat until well mixed. Finally whisk in the ricotta to give a creamy batter.
4. Combine the dry ingredients together and fold into the batter. Finally add 250g of the blueberries, folding them in
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, levelling the top and scatter the remaining blueberries over the surface
6. Bake the cake in a preheated oven for about an hour - this is how long it took in my oven but the book says bake for 80 - 90 minutes so do check to see if it is done by inserting a skewer and checking it comes out clean.
7. Cool in the tin for about 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar.

This is best eaten warm, although still very good cold the following day (ask me how I know) and a dollop of creme fraiche on the side doesn't go amiss either! It is definitely one I will bake again.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through.  This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk.  We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

Our choices for June 2019 were ~

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Tea Cake

Raspberry Cremeschnitte

White Chocolate Raspberry Pistachio Mousse Cake

Tiramisu Cake

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Tea Cake

Karen's Kitchen Stories

My Recipe Reviews Needs update

Sweet Sensations

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Raspberry Cremeschnitte

Amandie Bakes 

Tiramisu Cake

All That's Left Are The Crumbs

A Day in the Life on the Farm

White Chocolate Raspberry Pistachio Mousse Cake

Note - this cake was not chosen by any group members