May 26, 2016
For Mother’s Day, I actually managed to be in Brisbane for so was able to celebrate it with mum in the same state. This of course only meant one thing with our family: a big feast. So we organized a lunch to have on Sunday to celebrate mum through food. There were presents as well, but it was so nice to cook her a delicious meal, and spend some quality time with her.
I put myself on dessert duty because everyone knows how much I love desserts. I also knew that my dad and sister would absolutely nail the lunch side of things, and they truly did with a delicious roast lamb and rice. There’s nothing like having a delicious roast for Sunday lunch, even if it is in Brisbane when the weather does not call for it in the slightest! I feel like I really need to get into slow roasting now that I live in a colder climate, I seem to just cook chicken and be done with it. Watch this space, I feel a project coming on!
Mum is gluten free, which is pretty easy when you are making savory food, but sometimes a little bit of a challenge when making desserts. However, I find the availability of gluten free cakes is really increasing now that it becomes more common to have food intolerances. Plus, when I think of the flavours my mum enjoys in a cake, they really lend themselves to gluten free cooking. She loves spiced cakes that are nutty and not overly sweet, often with fruit and not usually super chocolatey (she’s not a big chocolate eater, I definitely get this from dad). So I found that when looking for recipes, there was a huge amount of cakes that were either Italian or European style that didn’t actually call for any flour because they were based on nuts. I decided to make one of these because it was the perfect combination of flavours for mum.
The recipe I found is actually one I’ve been meaning to try for a while. I myself love nutty cakes that have a bit of a lemon or honey flavour, and ones where you get a delicious syrup to load on the top. These cakes are quite light and don’t leave you feeling super full, which is nice sometimes. You don’t always want a rich cake (I know, I feel weird saying that too, but it is true). So I’ve had this recipe for a honey yoghurt cake on file for quite some time, mainly because the picture had a pile of fresh figs on the top. However, when I went to the supermarket I realised that there weren’t any figs because they aren’t in season here. But luckily I was able to pick up some beautiful raspberries and blueberries, which were just as delicious, and looked really pretty on the top of the cake!
Even though we were all pretty full from lunch, we still made room for this cake. It was absolutely delicious, and I think mum really enjoyed it. It was decadent without being rich, and the perfect end to a heavy, delicious lunch! I definitely went back for seconds, and it was lucky that I was able to leave it up in Brisbane because I probably would have eaten the whole thing! It was also pretty as a picture, so was a really special looking dessert, and a great addition to our Mother’s Day lunch.
Ingredients
- 150 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 150 grams of caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 180 grams of almond meal
- ½ cup of rice flour
- ¼ cup of natural unsweetened yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 150 grams of unsweetened yoghurt
- 3 tablespoons of honey, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 punnet of fresh raspberries
- 1 punnet of fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Grease the sides of a cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between to combine.
- Fold in the almond meal, rice flour, yoghurt and baking powder using a wooden soon. Ensure that the mixture is completely combined.
- Pour into the prepared cake tin, using a spatula to ensure all the mixture gets into the pan. Smooth over the top of the cake with the spatula.
- Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until when you put a cake skewer in the middle of the cake it comes out clean. Rotate the cake half way through to ensure that it bakes evenly.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan and then take out of the cake tin to cool completely on a wrack. It is quite delicate so make sure you are careful when moving it. It may also sink a little in the centre, which is ok.
- To make the yoghurt topping, mix the yoghurt and honey together in a small bowl until combine. The yoghurt may go a little runny but this is fine as it will moisten the cake.
- Spoon the mixture over the cake to ensure it is completely covered. Add the raspberries and blueberries on the top of the cake and drizzle with some extra honey. Serve immediately.
This cake was pretty simple and quick to make in cake terms, and the results were absolutely delicious! It was also a great one to have on hand when you are preparing more than one meal in the kitchen, because it only really used two bowls: one for the icing and one for the mixture. Who doesn’t love minimal washing up? I was lucky enough to have help in the kitchen from my partner, who wanted to get involved in the baking and did a great job!
The cake was absolutely delicious, and my mum loved it! The flavours were delicious and it didn’t end up being overly sweet which was perfect after a heavy meal. I loved the runny icing as it meant that the cake really didn’t need cream or ice cream with it, it was fine as a stand-alone. The berries also added a little sweetness and freshness to the cake, which worked perfectly with the honey and yoghurt.
This is a perfect cake for any occasion, and the best part is that its gluten free, but you wouldn’t know it! It was absolutely delicious, and a perfect afternoon tea addition. You could also add any fruit that was in season at the time; just as long as it’s fresh it will lend itself to the flavours perfectly.
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
