Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (February 2016) and taken from the book River Cottage Gluten Free written by Nutritionist, cook and River Cottage teacher Naomi Devlin.
For a nut-free version of this moist, flavoursome cake, replace the ground almonds with 50g gluten-free white flour – the cake will be a little drier, but still delicious.
Serves: 10
Ingredients:
200g gluten-free white flour blend
100g cornflour
4 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 tsp ground psyllium husk
100g ground almonds
5 tbsp milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
350g salted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
350g light Muscovado sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs
For the filling:
Juice of 1 lemon
350g blackcurrant jam
450ml double cream, whipped until thick
Icing sugar, for dusting
You will need:
2 x 20 cm sandwich tins
Step One: Preheat the oven to 180oF/Fan 160oC/Gas 4. Line the base of the cake tins with discs of baking parchment and butter the sides. Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder, psyllium and ground almonds together into a bowl; set aside. Pour the milk into a small bowl and add the vinegar to curdle the milk.
Step Two: In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together using an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon until light and fluffy (or use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Beat in 1 egg, followed by 3 spoonfuls of the flour mix, beating well between each addition until the mixture is smooth again. Repeat until the eggs are all in, then beat in the rest of the flour mix. Beat in the curdled milk mix.
Step Three: Scrape the mixture into the prepared tins and level the surface. Let stand for 15 minutes, then bake for 28-30 minutes until golden, springy and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Let stand for 10-15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the inside of the tin. Turn out the cakes and place, right side up, on a wire rack. Leave until cold.
Step Four: Using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half horizontally to make four layers. Stir the lemon juice into the blackcurrant jam. Place one cake layer on a plate, spread with a third of the blackcurrant mixture and cover with a third of the whipped cream. Repeat twice, placing the prettiest cake layer on top. Sift a little icing sugar over the top and serve.
timeonyourhands.org 
One thought on “Vanilla and blackcurrant sponge”