Bakewell Loaf Cake!

A simple fruit Bakewell loaf cake with an almond sponge stuffed with berries, and an almond buttercream frosting topping

Anything Bakewell is my favourite thing to make at the minute and anything in loaf cake form is also absolutely amazing. Easy to bake, easy to eat.

Bakewell bakes

So, Bakewell… it’s an iconic thing. Bakewell tart is probably the most famous thing for me when it comes to the Bakewell world, but maybe also a Bakewell slice (recipe found in my fourth book Easy Favourites), but there are so many other delicious Bakewell themed bakes.

This is becoming a bit of a tongue twister to write and read by I have done a cheesecake, cookies, cupcakes, blondies and more… and I just keep on wanting to do more and more. I adore the flavour profile of this theme and the amount of people who wanted a Bakewell loaf cake was astronomical.

Cake mix

This loaf cake is whole heartedly based on my berry Bakewell cake, and I am not sorry about it. It’s a simple cake, that I make on the regular because it is so simple to male and also absolutely delicious.

• Butter – as always for a cake you can use either a baking spread, or a room temperature unsalted block butter. Both work well for this
• Sugar – I used caster sugar as it suits a lighter flavour, but you can use golden caster sugar or white caster sugar, or even substitute to light brown soft sugar for a lovely flavour
• Eggs – I tend to always stick to medium eggs for consistency now amongst my bakes, but you can probably use two large and an egg yolk
• Flour – self raising flour because you want the raising agent. If you don’t have self raising flour, you can use plain flour and whisk in two teaspoons of baking powder before using in the recipe
• Almonds – to make the wonderful flavour, texture and bake you are after, I then also use ground almonds. Yes, you can sub for almond flour (most of the time they are the same thing, light and slightly golden in colour)

Berries

So just like my berry Bakewell cake, I wanted to put berries into the bake. I adore baking with fruit as we all know, and using fresh berries in a bake like this is so incredibly easy.

Typically fruit can sink in a bake, it happens ue to the weight of the fruit, the added moisture, the type of sponge and so on… for this cake, they never sink for me. The batter of the cake mix is much thicker and has a different texture due to the addition of the almond flour, and it works wonders.

I add in a number of different berries into the cake mixture, usually a mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries – or whatever I have in the fridge. Essentially, any berries work. I tend to use fresh as I have them for other things such as breakfasts, but theoretically frozen does also work. Frozen berries will emit more moisture and may sink more.

The loaf cake

As always, and for consistency like always, I use the same 2lb loaf tin for my recipe. As I have mentioned on my blog before, the annoying part about loaf tins in particular is that there is no consistency in sizing, even though they’re meant to be the same size, and it’s so frustrating. The amount of cake mix suits my size of 2lb loaf tin, but make sure to only fill to 2/3 full to prevent the cake from overflowing.

I forgot to add these on in the version of the bake I filmed for my social media channels, but I love to add on some flaked almonds before baking. It’s an added touch, it tastes great, and more almond the better, right?!

Once I have made my cake mix, I pour the cake into the lined tin (I line my cake tin to make it easier to get the cake out at the end) and then bake in my fan oven at 160ºc fan for 45-55 minutes. There is always a varying time on a recipe because every oven is different, and not always accurate.

To make sure that the cake is baked fully, bake until golden, and a skewer comes out clean. You can also carefully listen to the cake and if it’s still making a bubbling or crackling sound, it’s not quite baked yet. You need to make for a couple more minutes for best results.


The buttercream

The berry Bakewell cake that this recipe is based on is much simpler and only has a simple dusting of icing sugar. Because this recipe is a level up, I added a simple American buttercream frosting with an almond flavour. This is optional, you could just do a water icing drizzle or just the simple dusting of sugar.

• Butter – I will say it again and again, but the butter needed for buttercream has to be block butter. A baking spread or margarine doesn’t work in the same way and can be far too soft and make a runny icing.
• Sugar – you want to use icing sugar for a frosting like this because it mixes in nice and easily
• Flavour – I use some almond extract to flavour the buttercream, but this is optional as well. You can swap it to another flavour if you prefer.

Beat the butter on it’s own until smooth and supple (make sure it’s room temperature to start with) then add in the icing sugar and beat. Add in the flavouring and mix again. If it’s too thick, I recommend adding in some boiling water one tablespoon at a time, beating really well, to get the consistency you are after. During the peak of summer with the warmer weather, you probably won’t need to do this.  

Tips & Tricks

• This cake will last 2-3 days at room temperature. It can also go in the fridge because of the fruit, but the cake will likely become dense. 
• You can freeze the cake for 3+ months 
• The cake is delicious without the buttercream frosting – you can replace with a simple icing drizzle or melted chocolate drizzle 
• I use this 2lb loaf tin in my loaf cake recipes
• I use this piping tip for the decoration
• I use these piping bags

Bakewell Loaf Cake!

A simple fruit Bakewell loaf cake with an almond sponge stuffed with berries, and an almond buttercream frosting topping

Print Pin Rate

Category: Cake

Type: Loaf Cake

Keyword: Bakewell

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Cooling & Decorating: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 slices

Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Cake

• 150 g unsalted butter/baking spread
• 150 g caster sugar
• 150 g self raising flour
• 150 g ground almonds
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
• 250 g berries (I use strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)
• 25 g flaked almonds (optional)

Frosting

• 125 g unsalted butter
• 250 g icing sugar
• 1-2 tsp almond extract

Decoration

• Fresh berries
• Toasted almond flakes
• Icing sugar

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan and line a 2lb loaf tin
• In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy
• Add the almonds, flour, eggs and flavouring to the bowl as well, and mix
• Fold through the berries and spoon into the prepared tin
• Sprinkle on some flaked almonds if you want
• Bake for 45-55 minutes in the preheated oven and then leave to cool fully

Frosting

• In a new bowl, beat the butter on it’s own until smooth
• Add the icing sugar and almond extract and mix (If it's super thick, add 1tbsp of boiling water at a time until you have the consistency you want)

Decoration

• Pipe onto the cake however you want - I used a 2D closed star piping tip
• Top with fresh berries, toasted almonds and a dusting of icing sugar

Notes

• This cake will last 2-3 days at room temperature. It can also go in the fridge because of the fruit, but the cake will likely become dense. 
• You can freeze the cake for 3+ months 
• The cake is delicious without the buttercream frosting - you can replace with a simple icing drizzle or melted chocolate drizzle 
• I use this 2lb loaf tin in my loaf cake recipes
• I use this piping tip for the decoration
• I use these piping bags 

ENJOY!

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