Blueberry sour cream sponge with lemon cream cheese frosting

Ingredients:

Cake - 

175g soft butter

175g golden caster sugar 

3 large eggs

200g self-rising flour

25g almond meal

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla essence

142ml sour cream

250g frozen blueberries

Zest of 1 lemon

Frosting - 

250g Philadelphia cream cheese 

300g icing sugar

50g soft butter

Juice of half a lemon

Decoration - 

1 egg 

1 x 125g punnet fresh blueberries  

50g caster sugar

Fresh mint leaves

Method:

Cake -

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
2. Line a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper.
3. Beat together the butter and sugar until it is whippy and pale. Take your time over this as your cake will be lighter for it.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time. 
5. Beat in the vanilla extract.
6. Fold in the flour and baking powder.
7. Fold in the soured cream.
8. Dust blueberries with a spoonful of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom. Carefully stir in the blueberries.
9. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and level the surface. 
10. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
11. Leave to cool, in the tin, on a wire rack. Remove the cake tin when it is cool enough to handle, and place the cake back on the wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting - 

1. To make the frosting, beat the soft cheese, lemon juice and butter with the icing sugar in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Sieve to remove lumps.
2. Spread a thin layer over the top of the cooled cake (don't be impatient as the frosting will melt if the cake is too warm). Refrigerate for an hour or until the frosting is hard. Spread rest of frosting over the cake.  The cake will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Bring it to room temperature for about an hour before serving.

Crystallized blueberries - 

1. Separate the egg white, put the caster sugar into a bowl and lay out a sheet of grease proof paper.
2. Dip the blueberries into the egg white and then into the sugar. Lay on the paper to dry for 60 minutes or refrigerate until hard.

Finally, top cake with the crystallized blueberries and a sprig or two of fresh mint.

As you can see, my frosting skills need work! But I like the effect the sugared blueberries give the cake; very pretty and elegant. The cake is very moist, and I love the bursts of blueberries with every bite!