Dan Lepard Cinnamon Cake with Blackberries

Finally, after about seven months, my mother has got with the program and realised that I am on a rather daft mission to try a new recipe every day.  

I shocked her earlier this week by asking if she might be so kind as to let me cook a leg of lamb for Sunday lunch.  She knows I don't like roast lamb and haven't done so since I was about Miss A's age when I ended my phase of eating everything with mint sauce.

So whilst she was reeling from this statement, I slipped in a request to allow Miss A and I to bake a cake today which would also serve for pudding tomorrow.  Why I picked this cake, I'm really not sure but I guess there was something intriguing about a cake made with wholemeal rather than white flour.

Country kitchen tea

It's a fatless sponge so if it weren't for the huge mound of softly whipped cream sandwiching the layers together then it would probably be quite healthy.  It's really quick and easy to make and for the depth of cake, bakes in about half the time that a regular sponge would.  In fact I was stunned when it passed the skewer test after just half an hour.

I was a little dubious on slicing it into two because the wholemeal flour makes it look like it will have a dense, loaf-like texture.  But as the blurb says, it is honestly the lightest sponge you could imagine given that it's made with wholemeal rather than soft white flour.

My parents really enjoyed it and my mother commented that it tastes like carrot cake.  That'll be the very strong cinnamon-sweet flavour.  She has also noticed my obsession with Short and Sweet (it's now running at about 36p per recipe) and I told her that if she'd use it, I'd buy her a copy because the recipes are excellent and work every time.

The only advice I can think of for this recipe is to make it when the fruit is in season.  Despite buying the most expensive blackberries the shop had (well it was their top of the range ones but they were on offer and technically cheaper than the bog standard range), they weren't as tart and juicy as I would've liked.  Other than that, another winning recipe from the master.  And it looks rather fab on my new cake stand I bought ready for Clandestine Cake Club on Tuesday.

Luckily for those of you who don't own a copy of Short and Sweet, you can find the recipe on the Guardian web site.