Monday, February 6, 2012

Blackberry & yoghurt cake. A recipe.


It's blackberry season here in southern Australia. And what that traditionally means for us landholders and farmers, is that for the next few weeks we can stop stressing about this prickly weed that takes over everything, and start enjoying her fruits. For a short amount of time we can reap the rewards of this crop that we didn't pay for, or spend time weeding, fertilising or maintaining.

The blackberry fruit is like something for nothing. Like a thank you for putting up with it.

And so for a few weeks of every year, we get about with scratches up and down our arms and purple stained fingers. And during this time, there are always bowls of berries on the kitchen bench. There is always a big heavy pot simmering on the stove. There are saucers for testing jam readiness in the freezer. There are jars and jar lids being sterilised in the dish washer and in the oven. And there are always piles and stacks of jars of fresh, just bottled blackberry jam.


Every year I make jam. Hundreds of 300ml jars. Some for us, some for family and friends and some to be sold at farmers' markets. This year I've made about 30 so far.


But this year I've got a bee in my bonnet about expanding my blackberry horizons. This year I want to make blackberry other things too. Blackberry everythings.

It's just the start of the season, but so far I have made blackberry cordial with this recipe.


And blackberry and yoghurt cake.

This cake has been such a success that I've made it twice already. It's just so moist and delicious.
And most importantly, it's super dooper simple to bake.



Blackberry and yoghurt cake
  • A small bowl of blackberries.
  • A cup of yoghurt.
  • A third of a cup of oil.
  • Half a cup of sugar.
  • One lemon (juice and zest).
  • Two eggs.
  • One and 2/3 cups of self raising flour.
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.
Line a cake tin with baking paper.
Measure and then whisk together the yoghurt, oil, sugar, lemon juice and zest until all combined.
Add the two eggs and whisk until combined.
Add self raising flour and keep mixing until you've made a smooth batter.
Pour a layer of mixture into your lined tin.
Sprinkle the blackberries over the mixture.
Pour the rest of the mixture out to cover the blackberries.
Put your tin in the over to cook for one hour or until the top of the cake is golden.
Pop the kettle on and enjoy a piece. Yum!


Next up for me is blackberry ice cream I think.
And then...who knows.

Do you have a favourite berry recipe?
A blackberry recipe suggestion?
Do you pick them?
Do you like them?
If you are in the other hemisphere, do you miss them?
Do you ever cook recipes you read on blogs?

Happy cake baking and happy, happy new week. xx

42 comments:

  1. Yay, i saw this on your Instagram pic and new I wanted to make some too. So glad you popped the recipe on here. We have a beautiful blackberry bush too and have been making jam and muffins, but this cake looks yum.

    I have been blogging about them too. Just can't help it. Thanks for the recipe.

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  2. YUM! I will be trying this one for sure.

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  3. I grew up eating blackberries! We used to go blackberry picking with our dog CP, who would go ahead & raise her hackles & snarl at any snakes - she was very good at her job ... except she used to eat the blackberries off the vines - the big fat juicy ones!
    My fav blackberry food is blackberry crumble! Mmm, yum!

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  4. I bought a punnet of organic blackberries on the weekend. At $3.50 for seventeen berries, we just treasured every one and merely daydreamed about having enough to cook with!

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  5. Oh Kate. Blackberry cordial sounds divine! And that cake is too easy! Yum. Thanks gorg xxx

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  6. Also wishing we had enough free blackberries to cook with! At last look they were $4 a small punnet at the supermarket. Eek!

    One day our new blueberry and mulberry plants should keep us in supply of berries though and then I will be jam, ice cream and cake baking for sure!

    :)

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  7. I am so making this cake tonight!

    I was picking blackberries yesterday. I LOVE blackberry season. There's a few spots I know of nearby that I visit each year. One is on the way home from Daddy Eco's work, so i'm bribing him with the promise of jam, and asking him to pick some each day on his way home from work.

    I love having blackberries in the freezer to add to yoghurt.

    Thanks for the cordial recipe. I'll give it a go also.

    There's nothing better than free foraged food I reckon. x t.

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  8. Yum, this all looks delicious! I have never eaten fresh blackberries...I think we are in the wrong part of Australia for them? Do you think this recipe would work with other berries? I often cook recipes from blogs, thanks for sharing :)

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  9. Mmm, my mouth watered when I saw your first pic, let alone all of the others! I adore blackberries, but as I grew up in a country town picking them (half the fun!) for free I can't quite bring myself to pay for them from the 'stupid market', though I should go to a proper market... Ice cream sounds divine, and I think granita would be lovely for hot days too. I love making recipes from blogs as I know they're tested by home cooks like me ;-)

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  10. BLACKBERRIES ♥♥♥, yum I love them . Kate that blackberry cake looks absolutely delish and yes, I make recipes I see on blogs. Shall have to head down to the creek to see if there are any berries around.

    I looove blackberry jam, I used to work at the Yackandandah jam factory ad we would make blackberry and apple jam which is wonderful. The smell of the fruit cooking was absolutely intoxicating........

    i remember going blackberrying as a kidlet and mum made blackberry pie and it stained all the melamine bowls we used, hehe.......

    Claire :}

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  11. Thanks Kate - must try this - it will be a change from the crumbles I have been making.

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  12. Looks and sounds delish! Off to find some berries.

    Thanks for the recipe xx

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  13. That cake sounds really good. We have some blackberry bushes I think, but they don't seem to fruit. I'll have to go have a careful look and see!

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  14. I've been the lucky recipient of blackberry jam from my neighbour. NOTHING better than blackberry homemade jam.
    And I have fond memories of my aunt vanishing into the kitchen to re-emerge with a yummy blackberry and apple pie.
    But I was thinking blackberry infused vodka....?

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  15. I don't think I have ever made anything from a recipe on a blog although I have seen lots of good stuff - but this cake recipe just might have to be the first - it looks delicious! Thanks for sharing it!

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  16. That looks DIVINE....best I lookout for blackberries I think.

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  17. Yes, I do cook recipes that I find on blogs and this one will definately be one of them.

    You teased me with the raspberries and now blackberries *sigh*

    I love making coulis from some berries then piling meringue, icecream, berries and coulis hodge podge into a container and popping it into the freezer. A fave summer dessert around here (and works very, very well with mangos too...)

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  18. yes I cook from blogs because I like that the recipes have been tested and approved in ordinary kitchens by ordinary people.
    I'm off to make this blackberry cake as soon as the kitchen is free (from those who are doing the dishes), it can cook while I do the jam. I love blackberries but they have to picked from along the fence line in the sun and tasting of hot, sunshine. Every morning on my walk I pass just such a fence line, if I stop testing them for ripeness each day in a few more days there will be enough for me to pick a billy full.
    My neighbour just bought me over a couple of containers full from his garden...I love my neighbour :)

    cheers Kate

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  19. Yum! We went blackberrying for the first time this past weekend, and I made blackberry pie. Delicious. (i just blogged about it yesterday.) Also blackberry smoothies and pancakes. I think we'll have to go back again next weekend though, so I can make this cake. and just to eat more yummy blackberries! :)

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  20. Looks divine! Haven't seen too many affordable blackberries here though :( have always wanted to grab the 'free' ones you see sometimes driving. -Tricia :- how do you know if your foraged berries are safe to eat ?? We have to spray them on our land down south.... :(
    Will drool over your pics instead Kate :)
    Lauren

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  21. That cake looks delicious, I make yoghurt cake quite often but never tried it with blackberries, will have to keep it in mind for blackberry season. As we live in the countryside there's lots of wild blackberries along lanes and roads so usually we go for a late afternoon walk and pick a box full of them and then make a lovely crumble for dessert.

    Yes I do cook recipes from blogs, actually I have 2 folders full of recipes I've collected from magazines but mostly from blogs, I haven't tried them all yet but have tried quite a few.

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  22. Blackberry season is such a long way off here, 6-7 months away ... yes I miss them.!

    I love the sound of the cake and can imagine it with other fruits ... any chance you could give a hopeless Brit an ounces or grams conversion for those cups Kate. Thank you.

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  23. Totally, totally yum,blackberries, oh my, how delish, the yoghurt, I'm gonna make!

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  24. Yum! We have the same thing with Mulberries, except I suck at making jam, so I make sauce, cakes, crumbles and suffer the mulberry stains!

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  25. Yes I cook recipes I see on blogs and I would love to cook this one. I cook a yoghurt lemon cake and I love how moist it is. I'm originally from the country and I used to love spotting blackberry bushes when we'd go camping, all the scratches were totally worth it.

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  26. Oooh, think I'll have to pop down the paddock and collect a few for this recipe - thanks Kate!

    Rach x

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  27. Yum sounds and looks delicious. A lovely simple cake, my favourite kind of cake.
    As you know I'm no baker or cook but I've always wanted to try Blackberry Cobbler http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/08/the_great_cobbl/
    xo

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  28. I do miss them and can't wait to go foraging as they are all over the countryside growing wild. I just make jam, really or make an apple/blackberry pie. Funny you should mention about cooking from blog recipes ... you know I don't, and I don't know why because I do drool over them ... having said that, your cake would be one I will come back and have another look at. It looks wonderful Kate, as does the cordial!
    (ps like you've got time to go and convert recipes? - see other comment above)

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  29. I've made these blackberry crumb bars from Martha Stewart many times.They are delicious!
    http://www.marthastewart.com/316277/blackberry-crumb-bars
    Your jam looks great. :)

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  30. This cake is delicious! I made it last night. We ate it whie it was still hot and it was just like a blackberry pudding. I made it gluten free by swapping your 'One and 2/3 cups of self raising flour' with: 2/3 cup almond meal, 2/3 cup rice flour, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder.

    This is going to become a regular. Thanks Kate :-)

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  31. Oh yum! Blackberry anything is divine. Lucky you to have access to so many of them. Enjoy!

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  32. Ooh, I could have used some of your blackberries in my sponge cake yesterday.

    I make a berry and coconut cake. Similar to your's. I love a square cake. It's your practical no fuss cake.

    How did the girl's go back at school? Hope all went well x

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  33. Yum - I'm going to try this one for sure - I make lots of recipes from blogland because they're tried and tested!! I make a yummy cream cheese loaf cake with berries on the top. Thanks for sharing, as always! Nic

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  34. sounds delicious! So glad I found your blog. Love the farm pics a couple of posts back too - sounds like a little piece of heaven (although I'm sure that practically it might not seem like that to you!)

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  35. Yum!!! Thanks for sharing this.

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  36. Masses of free blackberries in our garden too. We love them mixed in with an apple crumble! Actually, they are great mixed in with any apple-ey thing. Might have to try that cake though - looks yummy and easy peasy!

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  37. Thanks for sharing this recipe..I just made it and within half an hour of being out of the oven ...it was devoured...the family all ate it warm with ice cream. Delicious !

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  38. You are fabulous and ever so inspiring. xx

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  39. Mmmmm sounds and looks good. I've written this down to make in the summer when the blackberry season comes to England. Also, I think raspberries would work beautifully too.
    I'm wondering of which country they are a native fruit, google searching next!

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  40. Yum! I'm going to check our wild blackberries this afternoon and this cake is on my list of things to bake. Thanks Kate for the recipe. xo

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I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.

Kate XX

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