Life is so hectic sometimes. With the lead-up to school starting again (my kids are back on 31 August), work, farming and everything else we need to get done over the course of a week, finding the time to cook and bake can be next to impossible.
But just because your schedule is busy doesn't mean the world around you stops. People still have birthdays, graduations, weddings and so many other lovely things to celebrate - and what's a celebration without great food?
I have this cake recipe in my back pocket for when busy times still call for the odd celebration.
A few of my closest friends have all had big (or not so big, but still important) things happen over the past few weeks and I wanted to get us all together for a cup of tea, a chat and a quick lunch.
I didn't have much time to plan an elaborate menu, but I knew I had everything to make this very lazy cake.
Blueberries were sitting in the fridge, but if I had other berries (or even apple), I would have used something else. I have the recipe memorised and there is no tricky technique involved here - you just need a bowl and a spoon.
What I like about this cake is how the blueberries all float to the bottom, which then becomes the top of the cake when you flip it over once cooled.
If you want the berries or fruit to stay in the centre or evenly distributed through the cake, just toss the fruit in a bit of flour before adding it to the batter.
Even the salted caramel sauce here is lazy - it is not a true caramel and it basically impossible to mess up (while being just as delicious as the real thing).
Lazy blueberry cake with salted caramel
Lazy blueberry cake with salted caramel. / Janine Kennedy
Makes 12 portions
Ingredients
125g softened butter
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
220g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
125ml buttermilk
200g fresh blueberries (also works well with apples, blackberries or cherries)
For the salted caramel sauce:
60g butter
200g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
250ml cream
2 tsp flaky sea salt
Directions:
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a square casserole dish with parchment. Set aside.
2 In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Using an electric hand mixer, cream them together for two to three minutes.
3 Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix for up to five minutes, until the batter is light, pale in colour and increased in volume.
4 Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until just combined.
5 Add the buttermilk and mix on high speed for 20 seconds, until everything is combined.
6 Using a spatula, fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter (it will be slightly thick) into the prepared dish and spread it evenly.
7 Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8 Make the salted caramel: in a saucepan, over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add in the brown sugar. Let these melt together and start to bubble.
9 Add the cream and vanilla. Stir to combine and bring to a boil (make sure your saucepan is big enough for this amount of sauce as it could boil over). Boil rapidly for three to five minutes. When it's ready, a wooden spoon dipped into the mixture will drip in one continuous drip (see video).
10 Remove from heat and place the caramel in a heat-proof dish to cool. Add the salt and mix well. Set aside until ready to serve (you can microwave it right before to serve warm).
11 When the cake has baked and cooled for 15 to 20 minutes in the dish, flip it on to a large plate or platter so the bottom side is up. Peel back the parchment paper and you should have a lovely blueberry topping.
12 Serve the cake warm with warm caramel sauce. This can be kept in an airtight container for three or four days and warmed up as desired.
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Life is so hectic sometimes. With the lead-up to school starting again (my kids are back on 31 August), work, farming and everything else we need to get done over the course of a week, finding the time to cook and bake can be next to impossible.
But just because your schedule is busy doesn't mean the world around you stops. People still have birthdays, graduations, weddings and so many other lovely things to celebrate - and what's a celebration without great food?
I have this cake recipe in my back pocket for when busy times still call for the odd celebration.
A few of my closest friends have all had big (or not so big, but still important) things happen over the past few weeks and I wanted to get us all together for a cup of tea, a chat and a quick lunch.
I didn't have much time to plan an elaborate menu, but I knew I had everything to make this very lazy cake.
Blueberries were sitting in the fridge, but if I had other berries (or even apple), I would have used something else. I have the recipe memorised and there is no tricky technique involved here - you just need a bowl and a spoon.
What I like about this cake is how the blueberries all float to the bottom, which then becomes the top of the cake when you flip it over once cooled.
If you want the berries or fruit to stay in the centre or evenly distributed through the cake, just toss the fruit in a bit of flour before adding it to the batter.
Even the salted caramel sauce here is lazy - it is not a true caramel and it basically impossible to mess up (while being just as delicious as the real thing).
Lazy blueberry cake with salted caramel
Lazy blueberry cake with salted caramel. / Janine Kennedy
Makes 12 portions
Ingredients
125g softened butter
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
220g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
125ml buttermilk
200g fresh blueberries (also works well with apples, blackberries or cherries)
For the salted caramel sauce:
60g butter
200g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
250ml cream
2 tsp flaky sea salt
Directions:
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a square casserole dish with parchment. Set aside.
2 In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Using an electric hand mixer, cream them together for two to three minutes.
3 Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix for up to five minutes, until the batter is light, pale in colour and increased in volume.
4 Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until just combined.
5 Add the buttermilk and mix on high speed for 20 seconds, until everything is combined.
6 Using a spatula, fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter (it will be slightly thick) into the prepared dish and spread it evenly.
7 Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8 Make the salted caramel: in a saucepan, over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add in the brown sugar. Let these melt together and start to bubble.
9 Add the cream and vanilla. Stir to combine and bring to a boil (make sure your saucepan is big enough for this amount of sauce as it could boil over). Boil rapidly for three to five minutes. When it's ready, a wooden spoon dipped into the mixture will drip in one continuous drip (see video).
10 Remove from heat and place the caramel in a heat-proof dish to cool. Add the salt and mix well. Set aside until ready to serve (you can microwave it right before to serve warm).
11 When the cake has baked and cooled for 15 to 20 minutes in the dish, flip it on to a large plate or platter so the bottom side is up. Peel back the parchment paper and you should have a lovely blueberry topping.
12 Serve the cake warm with warm caramel sauce. This can be kept in an airtight container for three or four days and warmed up as desired.
Read more
Try this crisp-coated chicken for a kid-friendly weeknight meal
Garden glut: what to do with all those courgettes
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