Recipe: Berry and Custard Tea Cake

With Mother's day tomorrow my mum gave me the brief of "something with berries".  Given we are planning on heading to brunch in the park I thought I would play on an old fashioned recipe of apple and custard tea cake.  I love cakes and pastries with custard in them... long-john doughnuts, custard slice, custard tarts, peach and custard danish.  You get the idea.  But a tea cake is so traditional and marries well to a celebration such as Mother's Day.  So, I thought I would play on this concept by substituting the apple for berries.  The lemon zest and juice are an essential part of this recipe as it cuts through the additional sweetness of the thick, rich custard.

Ingredients:

250g butter, softened

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind

1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

150g fresh or frozen berries

CUSTARD

2 tablespoons custard powder

1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

1 cup (250ml) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1.     CUSTARD: Combine the custard powder, sugar and vanilla essence in a small saucepan.  Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook, by whisking, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming;

2.     CAKE:   Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced);

3.     Grease a deep 22cm springform cake pan.  Line base and side with baking paper;

4.     Beat butter, rind and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy;

5.     Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually fold in combined sifted flours and lemon juice;

6.     Spread two-thirds of the cake mixture into the prepared pan;

7.     Dollop small spoonfuls of custard over cake mixture;

8.     Spoon the remaining cake mixture over custard;

9.     Place berries across the cake;

10. Bake for about 1 hour 25 minutes or until cooked when tested.

Tips:

You can easily alternate your milk in the custard for skim milk and add less sugar if you are trying to watch the waste line.

I find that it is best to use a whisk when making custard to ensure that there are no lumps.