It’s April! And all things yellow have started appear everywhere. Outside there are daffodils, and pansies, inside there are easter eggs and lemons! And as always i’m here to celebrate it through baking! I decided to bake a lemon & poppy sees cake, but a little bit differently.. this time i’m making it into a longer cake, in a tart case, adding a few blackberries to give it an extra punch of tartness, and then topping it off with some creme fraiche. Yes Creme Fraiche! It totally works, and because its not sweet, and doesn’t have the thickness of cream cheese, it gives a nice balance to the cake. This is definitely a cake for those who don’t like things overly sweet, but still want to eat a dessert. Its a very easy cake to bake, and is loved by both big and small!

Here’s how you bake it!

INGREDIENTS :  (this recipe makes for two tart cases, or 1 8 inch cake)

• 168g (1.5 cups) plain flour
• 1/2 tbs baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp lemon zest (roughly two lemons)
• 113g (4 ounces) butter, at room temp.
• 200g (1 cup) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tbs vanilla extract
• 90ml (1/2 cup) milk
• 60ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice m
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• 100g blackberries (not frozen) – more for decoration
• 100g creme fraiche

Also needed a long tart case – or 1 8 inch round cake tin

METHOD : 

1. Turn your oven onto 175C (350F).
2. In a small bowl, mix the milk and lemon juice, give it a stir, and leave to the side to curdle (this is your homemade buttermilk).
3. Then in a medium sized bowl, add your flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. give it a whisk and leave to the side.
4. In a large bowl whisk (in a stand mixer or with a hand held mixer) your butter and sugar together, until fluffy. Then add the eggs one by one, and mix until fully incorporated. Add in your vanilla extract and mix.
5. Then add in your 1/3 of your flour mixture, mix, then 1/3 of your milk/lemon, and mix. Keep doing this twice more. Do not over mix, just mix until combined. Add in your poppy seeds, and stir until combined.
6. Slightly butter your tart cases, and pour the batter in. Or if you’re using a cake tin, line with baking sheet, slightly butter the pan, and pour the batter in. Then place the blackberries in the batter, evenly distributed. With a spoon, just spread a little of the batter over the black berries so they are fully incased in the batter, and bake at 175C (350F) for 25-30 min. Or until a cake tester/knife comes out clean.
7. Leave it to cool completely, before removing from the cases, and then spread some creme fracihe on top, decorate with some more black berries, and there you have it! Your lemony tart cake is ready to be eaten with a cup of coffee or tea!

Enjoy!