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It all started last Saturday when France won 1-0 against the Brazilian team.
I’m not usually a football lover, but i have to admit i appreciate big events such as the world cup or the euro.
And as the saying goes, if you’re going to get wet… you may as well go swimming make a tricolour dessert.

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Then from Saturday, ideas started to pop in my head. One thing was clear: it had to be bleu-blanc-rouge [blue-white-red].
Let think…
Blue food? Hum… Ten minutes after = eureka, les blueberries c’est bleu non? [Blueberries are blue, aren't they?]
Red food? Big choice: lots of berries = strawberries, raspberries, red gooseberries, red currant etc.

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I started with a blueberry, raspberry and vanilla pannacotta, but i really wanted to make something that resembled the French flag.
Then i remembered a beautiful blueberry layer cake in the 21st issue of Donna Hay Magazine. Though the recipe didn’t sound that good.
I had to find a good and simple butter cake.
At that exact moment, Bill (read Granger) came to help me with his delicious butter cake from Sydney Food.
I finally had my French glory cake!Bluebbery, raspberry and vanilla cake
The cake itself is adapted from Bill Granger’s Sydney food. I reduced the the amount of baking powder used because i wanted the cake to be dense.

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The icing is made of fresh ricotta mixed with a little fromage blanc or yogurt, icing sugar and vanilla seeds. It goes so well with the dense-almost-almondy cake.
As for the fruit topping use whatever fruits you’ve got on hand – just remember that tangy fruits like blueberries, raspberries or redcurrant help balancing the lusciousness of the cake + ricotta icing.

Bluebbery, raspberry and vanilla cake

serves 8-12

for the cake
160g flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
83g butter, softened
130g caster sugar
2 eggs
seeds from half a vanilla pod
160ml sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl an cream together.
Add the eggs and vanilla seeds and mix. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream, mixing well after each addition.
Pour the cake batter into a lined 18×22cm rectangle cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack until completely cold.

for the ricotta icing and the fruit topping
250g ricotta
2 tbsp fromage blanc
seeds from half a vanilla pod
30g icing sugar
a big handful of blueberries
a big handful of raspberries

Combine the ricotta, fromage blanc, vanilla seeds and icing sugar and mix until smooth. Spread the top of the cake with this icing. Arrange the berries on top.

 

Note - this cake offers many possibilities from laid-back after-barbecue cake to posh summer dinner cake.
For the latter one, i reckon using only blueberries gives a sophisticated touche.

Posted by fanny who loves berries, cakes of all kind, recipe inside, summer, vanilla