Hot sun, sweet berries. This is the time of year to feast on summer fruit with cold cream or ice-cream, in Eton messes and pavlovas, in crisp tarts and pastries. Mostly I love berries as they come, but there is something about a raspberry that sweetens and intensifies with a spell in the oven. In this sticky, nutty almond cake, the raspberry juices seep into the batter, giving the cake a sultry, tangy edge.
Raspberry, cardamom and almond cake
The subtle scent of cardamom and rosewater gives this teacake an exotic eastern streak. You can use ready ground almonds, but the cake tastes far better if you grind them yourself.
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Makes 1 cake
125g butter, softened, plus more for greasing
350g blanched almonds
225g soft brown sugar
1 tsp flaky sea salt
2 eggs
250g Greek-style yoghurt
6 cardamom pods, shells discarded and seeds finely ground
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp rosewater
225g raspberries
25g flaked almonds
1 tbsp caster sugar
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Butter a 23cm loose-bottom tin and line it with a double sheet of greaseproof paper to prevent the sugars darkening too much. Warm the almonds in the oven for five minutes, then blitz into fine crumbs in a food processor. Be careful not to whizz them too long or the nut oils will start to separate.
Beat the butter until light and pale, then stir in the sugar, almonds and salt. Spread half this mixture over the bottom of the tin.
Lightly whisk the eggs and beat them into the rest of the cake batter. Stir in the yoghurt, cardamom, baking powder and rosewater, and mix well. Pour into the tin and scatter over the raspberries, allowing them to sink into the batter. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and caster sugar, and bake for 60-70 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. The mix will still be a little soft, but it will firm up as it cools.
Serve at room temperature with creme fraiche or softly whipped cream – all the more delicious if you can find farmhouse cream.
And for the rest of the week
Roast any leftover nuts in the oven with a tablespoon of olive oil and a few scrunches of sea salt for a delicious pre-dinner snack. Try making ice-cream with raspberries and rosewater, too – it is a lovely combination made even more delicious with a teaspoon of dark sherry vinegar. Fry leftover flaked almonds in butter, add fresh lemon and pour over grilled fish for a great, very quick dinner.
- Food styling: Valerie Berry