Vanilla cake with custard baked into it, studded with bursting blueberries. Rustic. Straightforward. Dreamy.
The custard layer particularly is one thing else! It’s melt-in-your-mouth creamy however set sufficient to chop into neat slices. If the picture under has you drooling, learn on …
Custard cake with blueberries
This cake took place as a kind of “wouldn’t or not it’s superior if…….” concepts that instantly materialise in my thoughts and I must blurt out to anyone inside earshot. I gestured enthusiastically as I described my imaginative and prescient of a cake and the way I believed I might make it work. My pleasure constructed as I began imagining the way it was going to style, till it bubbled over and I needed to give it a go.
So I made it. And the fact turned out even higher than I imagined!
It goes like this. Take a vanilla sponge base, perfumed with a delicate whisper of lemon. Smear a critical layer of custard on high. And I imply critical – as in equal in quantity to the cake; we would like heaps. Lastly, stud mentioned custard generously with plump, juicy blueberries. Now bake that pet!
A mouthful of tender vanilla cake, creamy custard and a blueberry bursting in your mouth is among the finest issues you’ll ever expertise in your life.
The factor that’s beautiful concerning the custard layer is it’s set sufficient with cooking you can reduce excellent, neat slices like a cake. However the second you eat it, the custard melts and floods your mouth with lush, creamy richness. And it’s wealthy, however not overly so. It’s additionally undoubtedly not too candy with only one/3 cup (60g) sugar in the entire custard layer.
In case you doubt me, right here’s proof of creaminess:
Anatomy of this Blueberry Custard Cake
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Vanilla sponge cake base – I selected to make use of my yogurt-based cake batter for this cake as a result of it’s designed to rise effectively even when weighed down with heavy toppings (instance: this Strawberry cake with 500g / 1lb of recent strawberries!). My signature Vanilla Cake batter, whereas extra plush, would get squished right into a pancake with such a thick layer of custard on high.
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Custard layer – The custard is a crème pâtissière, a sort of French custard. It’s luxurious in mouthfeel however not overly candy or wealthy, a fantastic balancing act our Gallic pals have mastered with so lots of their desserts. It’s the identical custard used within the well-known Flan Pâtisseier, a large French custard tart!
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Blueberries – I suppose cake and custard alone would have been sufficient already to make an important cake. However I couldn’t resist including blueberries. It’s partially for visuals – love these explosions of purple dotted by means of the cake. However it’s additionally as a result of a mouthful of tender vanilla cake, creamy custard with recent blueberry bursting in your mouth is among the finest issues you’ll ever expertise in your life.
What that you must make Blueberry Custard Cake
I believe you’re additionally going to like that there’s nothing uncommon or connoisseur referred to as for on this recipe!
1. Custard layer
Right here’s what you want for the custard layer:
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Milk – full fats dairy please. Low fats will work however you’ll lack that wealthy mouthfeel. I’ve by no means tried non-cow milk, both.
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Egg yolks – I’ve pictured 4 eggs as a result of that’s what you’ll in all probability want for the yolks referred to as for on this recipe. Egg yolks give custard the silkiness, yellow color, in addition to thickening energy. On this cake it additionally units the custard so it doesn’t run all over the place once you reduce a slice.
What to do with leftover egg whites? Egg white omelette, Italian almond cookies, use for egg ribbons in Sizzling & Bitter Soup, Chinese language Corn Soup or simply add further white to your subsequent omelette or frittata. Additionally, I’ve made these Chocolate Cookies from the web site As Straightforward As Apple Pie – they’re dangerously addictive, form of like brownies meets chewy meringue cookies! Browse right here for extra egg white utilization concepts.
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Vanilla bean paste – I exploit the paste as a result of I just like the little vanilla seed specks in my custard. Nevertheless I select paste over actual vanilla beans on this and different custard recipes I make (comparable to Creme Brûlée, Flan Patissier, Creme Anglaise) as a result of it doesn’t expend an entire bean. I I do know it might personally irritate me to see a recipe calling for “half a vanilla bean” so I gained’t do it to you both.
Substitute with vanilla extract (no specks, however that’s cool). For a recipe like this, I believe it might be a disgrace to resort to synthetic vanilla essence, so keep away from.
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Sugar – caster sugar / superfine sugar with finer granules is healthier because it dissolves extra simply. Nevertheless, common / granulated sugar might be fantastic too.
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Cornflour / cornstarch – This thickens the custard together with the eggs. Equally it additionally set the custard so it’s sliceable.
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Butter – This enriches the custard. You recognize butter is rarely an unwelcome visitor, and this recipe is not any exception!
2. Cake layer
And right here’s what you want for the cake:
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Yogurt – Yogurt is just a little baking trick that make muffins with a young, never-dry crumb. It provides moisture to your batter with out thinning it out like, say, milk. Which implies you don’t want to make use of as a lot flour. And fewer flour means a extra moist cake!
Acidity in yogurt additionally reacts with and prompts baking soda. Nevertheless this isn’t relevant to this recipe as we’re utilizing baking powder reasonably than baking soda. I discovered baking powder made my yogurt batter rise extra evenly (baking soda leads to an ugly hump!).
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Oil – One other cake moisture-improvement trick. Whereas butter provides flavour, oil will provides you a moister end result than butter. We actually want good moistness on this cake, to make certain the cake stays tender even after the 45 minute bake time required to set the custard.
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Sugar – As above, superfine / caster sugar is most well-liked however common / granulated will work fantastic.
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Lemon zest – Mixed with the yogurt, the zest provides the sponge layer a touch of freshness. This distinguishes the cake part from the vanilla custard so the dessert just isn’t so one-dimensional in flavour. This was a late addition and I actually appreciated what it delivered to the cake!
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Vanilla – I exploit vanilla extract right here, not vanilla bean paste which I believe is wasted as a result of you’ll be able to’t see the specks. Attempt to give synthetic essence a miss as a result of it tastes, effectively, synthetic.
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Blueberries – Contemporary or frozen. If utilizing frozen, don’t thaw else it can bleed terribly once you combine it by means of the custard!
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Flour – Simply plain / all-purpose flour.
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Baking powder – The rising agent on this cake. As talked about above, I’ve used baking soda up to now for this batter however I discovered the cake acquired an ugly hump within the center. Baking powder provides it a way more even rise.
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Egg – Only one egg is all you want.
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Salt – Only a pinch. It’s good baking apply so as to add just a little salt because it brings out the opposite flavours.
Easy methods to make Blueberry Custard Cake
There’s a couple of elements to this cake (custard, cake batter, layering), however I promise it’s easy. Keep in mind, it’s a country cake, so calm down. We aren’t searching for excellent layers and placement of blueberries right here!
1. Custard
Custard is a lot extra easy than most individuals realise. Custard is simply milk thickened with cornflour/cornstarch and egg yolks, then baked within the oven to complete setting it.
The one factor to be careful for is to keep away from scrambling the eggs with the new milk, however the recipe steps are designed to keep away from this danger.
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Warmth the milk with vanilla and half the sugar, simply till it’s steaming. Watch to verify it doesn’t boil over – it could possibly occur in a blink of a watch!
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Whisk yolks – In the meantime, utilizing a handheld whisk, whisk the egg yolks with sugar till included (5 seconds). Then whisk within the cornflour till you’ll be able to not see white. It’s simpler to do it on this order to keep away from a storm of cornflour erupting in your face. Simply belief me on this.
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1/2 cup scorching milk – Whereas nonetheless whisking, slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of scorching milk. As soon as included, pour within the remaining scorching milk whereas whisking constantly.
This methodology of steadily combining the new milk with the egg yolks (tempering) is to verify the new milk doesn’t unintentionally scramble the eggs.
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Return to range – Pour the combination again into the identical saucepan and over medium (or medium excessive, for execs), whisk consistently for two to three minutes. (The precise time is determined by how scorching your milk was, residual warmth in saucepan and so on.) At first, the custard might be watery however because it heats up, it can thicken and you’ll immediately really feel it. See picture in step 5 under.
If at any level you are feeling prefer it’s thickening too quick, simply take it off the range and preserve whisking. And if it begins to look lumpy as it’s thickening, don’t fret, it does that generally! Simply preserve whisking and it’ll easy out.
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Bubbles → 30 second whisk – As soon as the custard turns into thick and scorching, you will notice huge lazy bubbles showing on the floor and bursting (pause whisking to test). On the sight of the primary bubble, with the range on low, whisk for an extra 30 seconds then take away the saucepan from warmth.
The looks of a lazy bubble is the sign that tells you when the custard is cooked sufficient. How for much longer you prepare dinner it for after the bubble seems is set by the amount of custard you’re making and the thickness you’re aiming for. In our case, 30 secs whisking is true.
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Enrich with butter – With the pot off the range, whisk within the chilly butter cubes till totally included.
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Pour custard into the identical bowl you used to whisk the egg yolks, to avoid wasting dirtying a brand new bowl.
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Cowl with cling wrap pressed towards the custard floor to keep away from a pores and skin forming. Put aside on the countertop whilst you put together the cake batter. The custard can nonetheless be heat once we layer it onto the cake however we don’t need it piping scorching.
Making forward – The custard may be made the day earlier than and refrigerated after it totally cools. In actual fact, the flavour of the custard improves in a single day. It would solidify right into a rubbery mass however don’t stress. Simply use a handheld beater to beat it and watch because it magically turns right into a creamy, dollop-able custard once more!
2. The easy cake batter
Oh this magic yogurt cake batter, utilized in so numerous muffins on this web site that lots of you’re keen on a lot!
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Whisk moist – Place all of the moist substances in a bowl and whisk till mixed. That’s the yogurt, sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and lemon zest.
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Add dry – Add the dry substances (flour, baking powder and salt), and whisk till easy.
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Pour right into a lined 8″/20cm springform pan.
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Clean the floor.
3. Custard layering
The precise layering approach I exploit is all about reaching a straight and stage line the place the cake and custard interface, and an excellent distribution of blueberries all through the custard. Fussy, who me? 😳
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Half custard – Dollop half the custard across the edges of the tin on the floor of the batter then unfold inwards to unfold it throughout the floor of the cake. This methodology creates a straight, even line the place the cake meets the custard. In the event you dollop it within the center, you form of find yourself with a cake crater crammed with custard. Not a nasty factor, thoughts you.
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Half blueberries – Scatter over half the blueberries.
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Combine blueberries with custard – Then combine the remaining blueberries with the remaining custard.
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High the cake with this blueberry and custard combination.
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Clean the floor, urgent within the blueberries as finest you’ll be able to.
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Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
4. Elective blueberry burstage encouragement (& custard setting)
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Blueberry burstage (OPTIONAL) – With the variety of instances you’ve already learn the “blueberry burstage” and “bursting blueberries”, you’ve in all probability found out that this specific characteristic appeals to me!
A lot in order that I prefer to encourage blueberry burstage by pulling the cake out of the oven 10 minutes earlier than it’s executed to intentionally burst some blueberries utilizing a small knife.
You don’t have to do that step. It’s fully non-compulsory. (*She says, unconvincingly*)
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Cool on counter – The cake is finished when the custard floor is ready (ie. you’ll be able to contact it and your finger stays clear) however there’s nonetheless a little bit of a wobble beneath. You need some wobble. No wobble means the custard is overcooked and consequently will turn into firmer in texture than superb as soon as cooled.
By the way in which, I’m positive you’ve figured it out by now however this recipe is particularly designed so the cake and custard each bake to perfection in the identical time. To this finish, there ought to be no browning on the floor of the custard. It ought to simply be yellow with (hopefully) a lot of blueberry guts seeping out and thru it (are you counting what number of instances I exploit these form of graphic descriptions??!😂)
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Fridge 12 hours – This step is to totally set the custard so you’ll be able to reduce neat slices of the cake. Don’t skip or shortcut the refrigeration time! Having executed this myself reducing into the cake to early to seek out the custard just isn’t totally set, I can inform you that 6 hours just isn’t sufficient and eight hours continues to be excessive danger.
In a single day, and minimal 12 hours, is a protected wager!
PS. If the custard just isn’t totally set, whereas visually it might not current fairly the identical as what you see within the pictures, let me guarantee it’s nonetheless a heavenly consuming expertise. Some would possibly even say a greater one since you get huge dollops of creamy custard.
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Voilà! Right here’s your (rustic, fabulous) masterpiece!
In the event you’re just a little fussy like me, you’ll be able to trim alongside the perimeters of the cake to make the perimeters easy simply utilizing scissors. Don’t toss the trimmings, eat as you go. Suppose – blueberry fruit leathers (in scrappy, mini kind.)
Serving, storing
I topped the cake with further blueberries for {photograph} functions solely. You actually don’t must for serving, there’s lots occurring within the cake as it’s.
As for serving, reduce like a cake and serve like cake.
The one factor I’ll actually encourage although is to eat it at room temperature as an alternative of fridge-cold. Chilled custard is good. However room temperature custard is healthier. It’s creamier and tastier. Similar goes for cake.
So take the cake out of the fridge at the very least half-hour previous to serving, ideally 1 hour. In the event you can, slice fridge-cold then let the slices come to room temperature. The reason being you’re going to get neater slices with sharper edges when the cake is reduce chilly, because the custard smears much less on the knife. The cake is at room temperature in all of the pictures on this publish, and after I reduce the cake within the video under.
I’d like to know in case you do that cake. And in case you do, inform me if the place you sit on blueberry burstage! Did you are taking the additional step to encourage burstage? *Do it! Do it! Do it!* – Nagi x
Watch tips on how to make it
Be aware: On this video I don’t unfold the custard on the cake correctly! The higher approach to do it’s as per the recipe card under – put huge dollops across the edges of the cake and unfold inwards. I’ll replace the video after I make the cake once more!
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Blueberry Custard Cake
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook dinner: 55 minutes
Cooling & refrigeration: 15 hrs
Cake
Western
Servings12
Faucet or hover to scale
Directions
Custard:
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Warmth milk: Warmth the milk with vanilla and half the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium warmth till scorching.
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Whisk egg: Whisk yolks with remaining sugar, then whisk within the cornflour.
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Milk into egg: Slowly pour about 1/2 cup scorching milk into the eggs whereas whisking. As soon as included, pour in remaining milk and whisk to mix.
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Thicken: Pour the combination again into the saucepan. Cook dinner on medium, whisking consistently till you are feeling it beginning to thicken then instantly flip right down to low (2 – 3 minutes). Preserve whisking then once you see a lazy bubble seem and burst on the floor, whisk for 30 seconds longer.
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Enrichen with butter: Take off the range. Whisk in butter till easy. Scrape right into a bowl then cowl with cling wrap touching floor. Depart to chill whereas making the batter (Be aware 5 for custard suggestions)
Cake:
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Batter: Whisk Moist substances in a big bowl. Add the Dry substances then whisk till easy. Take away 1/3 cup of the batter (Be aware 5) then pour the remaining batter into the ready pan and easy the floor. (Bake the 1/3 cup batter in a separate greased ramekin for 25 minutes).
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Custard topping: Whisk custard till easy. Dollop half across the edges of the cake floor then unfold inwards with offset knife. Clean the floor, then scatter with half the blueberries. Combine remaining blueberries into remaining custard, then unfold throughout the cake floor, urgent blueberries in to flatten the floor.
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Bake 45 minutes: Place the cake within the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Take away, then use 2 small paring knives to burst a few of the blueberries on the floor (1 knife to cease blueberry spinning, the opposite to burst). Restrict bursting time to 1 minute, not! Then bake for an extra 10 minutes.
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Cool: Take away cake from the oven. Totally cool within the cake pan (round 3 hours). Then refrigerate for 12 hours, nonetheless within the pan.
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Serve! Take away cake from the pan then reduce into slices. Greatest served at room temperature reasonably than fridge chilly!
Recipe Notes:
2. Yolks – I wouldn’t ask you to measure the yolks if it didn’t matter. For custard, it issues! The scale of yolks differs from egg to egg so it truly is finest to measure.
What to do with leftover egg whites? Browse right here for concepts. Egg white omelette, Italian almond cookies, use for egg ribbons in Sizzling & Bitter Soup, Chinese language Corn Soup or simply add further white to your subsequent omelette or frittata. Additionally, I’ve made these Chocolate Cookies from the web site As Straightforward As Apple Pie – they’re dangerously addictive!
3. Giant eggs are of a dimension that’s an trade normal 55g/2o every, offered in cartons labelled as such.
4. Yogurt is a good trick for making muffins with a moist crumb, learn in publish for why. Full fats is finest although low fats works okay. Use a plain yogurt, not sweetened.
5. Custard – Don’t fear if it begins to look lumpy on the range, as you proceed whisking it can turn into easy. To keep away from scrambled eggs, whisk consistently (however leisurely!) whereas on the range. In case you are involved about bits of scrambled eggs, simply pressure the custard by means of a fantastic mesh colander into the bowl. Custard may be barely heat when placing in batter however not piping scorching. It would agency up because it cools. Give it a whisk and it’ll loosen and turn into easy once more.
6. Eradicating 1/3 cup batter – That is simply to present the correct ratio of cake to custard on this cake for each consuming expertise and making certain the cake and custard prepare dinner in the identical time. Cutting down the batter barely was too tough, simpler to take out 1/3 cup and simply bake a mini cake. Use a ramekin or related, not a muffin tin, it can have an effect on warmth circulation within the oven.
7. Storage – This may preserve within the fridge for 4 to five days. Greatest to serve at room temperature so the custard actually melts in your mouth!
8. Diet per slice.
Diet Data:
Energy: 220cal (11%)Carbohydrates: 30g (10%)Protein: 4g (8%)Fats: 10g (15%)Saturated Fats: 3g (19%)Polyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 5gTrans Fats: 1gLdl cholesterol: 78mg (26%)Sodium: 26mg (1%)Potassium: 168mg (5%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 18g (20%)Vitamin A: 226IU (5%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 91mg (9%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Lifetime of Dozer
A face that’s efficiently scored many cake samples over his lifetime.