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Blueberry Custard Cake

Recipe video above. A vanilla cake with custard baked into it, studded with bursting blueberries. Rustic. Easy. Dreamy. You'll love how you can cut neat slices but the custard is melt-in-your-mouth!

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Cooling & refrigeration
15 hrs
Servings: 12
Calories: 220 kcal
Course: Cake
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Custard:
  • 1 1/2 cups milk , full fat
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1/3 cup superfine/caster sugar (Note 1)
  • 1/4 cup / 60 g egg yolks (~4 large eggs) (Note 2)
  • 3 1/2 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch
  • 30 g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter , cold, cut into 1 cm / 1/2" cubes
Cake - wet:
  • 1/2 cup superfine/caster sugar (Note 1)
  • 1/4 cup canola oil (or other neutral oil)
  • 1 large egg (Note 3)
  • 1/2 cup PLAIN yogurt (Note 4)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp lemon zest , finely grated (1 large lemon)
Cake - Dry:
  • 1 cup flour , plain / all-purpose
  • 2 tsp baking powder (if old, check it's still active)
  • Pinch of salt
Blueberries:
  • 250 g / 8 oz blueberries , fresh or frozen (do not thaw)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) with the shelf in the middle of the oven.
  2. Grease a 20 cm / 8" springform pan with butter. Line the base and sides with paper.
Custard:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Heat milk: Heat the milk with vanilla and half the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.
  2. Whisk egg: Whisk yolks with remaining sugar, then whisk in the cornflour.
  3. Milk into egg: Slowly pour about 1/2 cup hot milk into the eggs while whisking. Once incorporated, pour in remaining milk and whisk to combine.
  4. Thicken: Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook on medium, whisking constantly until you feel it starting to thicken then immediately turn down to low (2 - 3 minutes). Keep whisking then when you see a lazy bubble appear and burst on the surface, whisk for 30 seconds longer.
  5. Enrichen with butter: Take off the stove. Whisk in butter until smooth. Scrape into a bowl then cover with cling wrap touching surface. Leave to cool while making the batter (Note 5 for custard tips)
Cake:
  1. Batter: Whisk Wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add the Dry ingredients then whisk until smooth. Remove 1/3 cup of the batter (Note 5) then pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. (Bake the 1/3 cup batter in a separate greased ramekin for 25 minutes).
  2. Custard topping: Whisk custard until smooth. Dollop half around the edges of the cake surface then spread inwards with offset knife. Smooth the surface, then scatter with half the blueberries. Mix remaining blueberries into remaining custard, then spread across the cake surface, pressing blueberries in to flatten the surface.
  3. Bake 45 minutes: Place the cake in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove, then use 2 small paring knives to burst some of the blueberries on the surface (1 knife to stop blueberry spinning, the other to burst). Limit bursting time to 1 minute, no longer! Then bake for a further 10 minutes.
  4. Cool: Remove cake from the oven. Fully cool in the cake pan (around 3 hours). Then refrigerate for 12 hours, still in the pan.
  5. Serve! Remove cake from the pan then cut into slices. Best served at room temperature rather than fridge cold!

Notes

  • Sugar - Superfine / caster sugar is best to use as it dissolves more easily. However, regular/granulated will work ok too.
  • Yolks - I wouldn’t ask you to measure the yolks if it didn’t matter. For custard, it matters! The size of yolks differs from egg to egg so it really is best to measure.
  • Leftover egg whites - Here's my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.
  • Large eggs are of a size that is an industry standard 55g/2o each, sold in cartons labelled as such.
  • Yogurt is a great trick for making cakes with a moist crumb, read in post for why. Full fat is best though low fat works ok. Use a plain yogurt, not sweetened.
  • Custard - Don't worry if it starts to look lumpy on the stove, as you continue whisking it will become smooth. To avoid scrambled eggs, whisk constantly (but leisurely!) while on the stove. If you are concerned about bits of scrambled eggs, just strain the custard through a fine mesh colander into the bowl. Custard can be slightly warm when putting in batter but not piping hot. It will firm up as it cools. Give it a whisk and it will loosen and become smooth again.
  • Removing 1/3 cup batter - This is just to give the right ratio of cake to custard in this cake for both eating experience and ensuring the cake and custard cook in the same time. Scaling down the batter slightly was too difficult, easier to take out 1/3 cup and just bake a mini cake. Use a ramekin or similar, not a muffin tin, it will affect heat circulation in the oven.
  • Storage - This will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Best to serve at room temperature so the custard really melts in your mouth!
  • Nutrition per slice.

Nutrition Information

Calories 220cal (11%) Carbohydrates 30g (10%) Protein 4g (8%) Fat 10g (15%) Saturated Fat 3g (15%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 5g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 78mg (26%) Sodium 26mg (1%) Potassium 168mg (5%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 18g (36%) Vitamin A 226IU (5%) Vitamin C 3mg (3%) Calcium 91mg (9%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 220

% Daily Value*

Calories 220cal 11%
Carbohydrates 30g 10%
Protein 4g 8%
Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 78mg 26%
Sodium 26mg 1%
Potassium 168mg 4%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 18g 36%
Vitamin A 226IU 5%
Vitamin C 3mg 3%
Calcium 91mg 9%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.