Sticky Honey and Blackberry Cake

This burnished and bejewelled cake reminds me of autumn - the amber hue of the honey and the inky purple juices of the blackberries seem to signal that the most cosy of seasons is almost upon us. I managed to get hold of some locally produced honey from Bea's Bees Wildflower Honey for this cake and would recommend that you try to source some locally produced honey for yours. 

Sticky Honey and Blackberry Cake

(recipe via BBC Good Food)

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g light brown sugar

2 tbsp. runny honey

3 medium eggs

175g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 handful of blackberries drizzled with 1 tsp honey

For the syrup

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp. runny honey

Preheat oven to 180 Centigrade/gas mark 4/ 356 Fahrenheit.

1. Grease and line a 23 cm spring form tin.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, along with a spoonful of the flour to prevent curdling. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that everything is incorporated. 
5. Beat in the remaining flour, gradually, to ensure that no lumps form. 
6. Spread half of the mixture into the cake tin.  
7. Drizzle a teaspoon of honey over the blackberries and scatter half of them on top of the cake batter.
8. Spread the remaining cake batter over and top with the last of the blackberries.
9. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and cover with foil. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes, until the cake is springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 
10. Prick surface of the cake with a skewer, and mix together the lemon juice and honey for the syrup. Drizzle over the surface of the cake and leave until completely cool, before removing from the tin. 

Hints/tips

• You can replace some of the weight of the sugar with an equal weight of honey. If you do decide to do this, you may not need the drizzle syrup - use your judgement once the cake is baked. 
• Replace the blackberries with cherries/blueberries/raspberries. Depending on the amount you use, you may need to adjust the baking times to suit. 
• Add cream cheese frosting to the top if desired.

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