Lemon Sandwiches with Blueberries & Cream

 

We are enjoying a day filled with dark clouds and plenty of rain today. We can't complain really. May was a beautiful month, but we do need rain.  

Rain is a part and parcel of why this country is so lush and green! Admittedly things were starting to turn brown, and I don't like that either!  

Might as well improve the day by baking a lovely dessert. Lemon Sandwiches with Blueberries and Cream are just the ticket to brighten anyone's day!

 

With everything that is going on though, rain can be a bit depressing. With the virus, the lockdown, the riots, etc. we needed a bit of a pick-me-up.

A pick me up is always welcome and there is nothing better for that than a tasty dessert. And what a fabulously delicious dessert this is!

 

Thick slices of a moist and delicious lemon cake are topped with a rich yogurt cream and a sweet fresh blueberry sauce. Its very similar to a strawberry shortcake in a way I suppose.

Except this isn't made with baking powder biscuits.  Its made with lemon cake.  A moist and delicious lemon cake.  A very yummy cake.

  

You really can't go wrong with this dessert. Thick slices of that gorgeous cake, stuffed with berries and a yogurt cream,  and then dusted with some icing sugar.  Beautifully delicious. 

Incredibly moreish.  Simple and easy to make, and yet at the same time very impressive to say the least.

 

That cake is light and lemony. You could enjoy just the cake on its own with along with a nice hot cuppa  .  .  . and trust me, we will be doing just that. 

I mean lemon cake and hot cups of tea, what could be better than that?  I''ll tell you what! Slices of lemon cake stuffed with cream and berries, that's what!

 

It is moist and tender and as light as an angel's wings. That cream filling is a lush mix of whipped cream and thick greek yogurt, with just enough tang to provide a brilliant cool contrast to the sweetness of the cake.

Even on its own that cream filling is lovely. I  love using yogurt in things like this. It has a tang that is quite unbeatable.  Rich and creamy.

 

Lets talk about the berry portion. Oh sure, you could just put some fresh berries in the middle and nothing else.  Stir them together with a bit of blueberry jam that has been loosened with a bit of lemon juice and   . . .  wow, just WOW! 

This is amazing. Sweet and amazing, and such a simple concept. You will find yourself thinking of other ways that you can use this sweet filling and cream.

 

Of course if you are not fond of blueberries, you could use strawberries, or raspberries.  Maybe even sliced canned peaches.  All would be pretty wonderful.

All would be quite delectable. Peaches and raspberry jam would give you almost a Peach Melba kind of touch. I do so love Peach Melba. Don't you?

 

The recipe calls for a pretty long loaf tin, which I did not have.  Instead I used a 10 by 3 inch loaf tin as well as an 8 by 3 inch tin.  They were perfectly baked in about ten minutes less than the recipe states. 

This did mean that I had two cakes.  I froze one.  Yes, this cake is easily frozen. Just wrap it tightly and freeze. I use two layers of plastic cling film and then a layer of foil.

 

The recipe is one I adapted from one of my favourite cookery books, Apples for Jam by Tess Kiros.  I love her books.  I have about four of them I think.

Her recipes are quite nice I think.  Especially the ones in Apples for Jam.  I think I have cooked just about every recipe in that book. It is rare that you will actually do that. Its a sign of a very good cookbook.

 

All of her recipes turn out wonderfully and are simple.  In their simplicity they are quite delicious. I have never had one fail me yet. 

The chapters are ordered according to colours, with each chapter following a different colour theme. The photographs are also quite beautiful. If you don't have this book,  you might want to consider getting it for yourself.

  

I have all of her books. There was only one that I really didn't care for much, the Portugese one. Piri Piri Starfish. I gave that one away, but Apples for Jam and her book Falling Cloudberries . . .  exquisite! 

The Fallling Cloudberries ones explores her childhood and growing up with a mixture of a Scandanavian and Greek heritage.  Both are countries which intrigue me. I have wanted to go to Greece since I was a child. Perhaps one day I will actually get there!

Print

Lemon Sandwiches with Blueberries & Cream

Yield: 12

Author: Marie Rayner

A basic lemon cake, which is great just as a cake, but put slices together in paird, with some tangy yogurt cream and sweet blueberries sandwiched in the middle and you have a company worthy dessert worth sharing!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 250g butter softened, (9 ounces or  1 cup +1TBS)
• 280g caster sugar (1 1/4 cups superfine sugar)
• 3 large free range eggs
• 310g plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• the finely grated zest and juice of one unwaxed lemon
• 185ml of single pouring cream (3/4 cup)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

To fill and finish:

• 100ml double cream (3 1/2 fluid ounces)
• 2 tsp icing sugar
• 100ml thick greek yogurt (7 TBS)
• 100g fresh blueberries (3 1/2 ounces)
• 3 TBS blueberry jam
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• icig sugar to dust the cake

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/gas mark3.  Butter a 12 by 4 inch loaf tin really well and dust with flour.  Shake out any excess flour. Alternately you can line it with baking paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Sift the flour and baking powder together with a pinch of salt.  Whisk into the creamed mixture alternately with the cream, until you have lovely smooth batter.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for one hour and ten minutes until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan completely.
4. To make the filling. Whisk the jam together with the lemon juice to loosen.  Fold in the fresh berries. Set aside to macerate.
5. Whip the cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form.  Fold in the yogurt.
6. Cut the cake into 1/2 inch thick slices and sandwich together with a dollop of the cream/yogurt mixture and a nice spoonful of the berries. Dust the top with icing sugar and serve.

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