Much of my childhood was spent at our family lake-side cottage. Most weekends through the summer and a few through the winter. There were no other children nearby, so I spent much of my time at our neighbour’s (and dear friends) cabin, baking. This is almost certainly where I shaped my association with relaxation and baking!

Helga (our cabin neighbour) and my mother would regularly make Lake Cake. They each had their own version, but both were made often enough to earn this name. Helga’s was a marbled ring cake and my mothers being a poppyseed cake. (both recipes to follow along soon!!) However, Helga, also made a fabulous blueberry cake with a crumble topping. I used to help her make this cake most weekends – long before blueberries and superfood were even a thing!

Sadly I haven’t the recipe for this but in my attempts to recreate it, I ended up making this worthy number. It is surprisingly easy to put together, which is why I included it in the cooking with kids, as my wee 4 year old helped me out with measuring, pressing and crumbling. He even watched it carefully in the oven to make sure it was baking properly!

• 200g Butter
• 200g Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Egg
• a pinch of Salt
• 500g Plain Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 300g Fresh Blueberries
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Oven 180C/160C Fan

Butter a 25 cm (10 Inch) Springform tin. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and egg and beat well. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture gradually to the wet mixture, a little at a time. If you are using a food processor, then stop here and do the remainder by hand.

Pour the rest of the flour mixture in and using two forks or your fingertips, blend the flour into the cake dough to form a crumbly mixture. Pour half of the crumb mix into the prepared tin and press down to form a smooth base, with a little up around the edges. Fill with the blueberries, keeping the edges clear. Sprinkle the blueberries with the cinnamon and top with the remaining crumb mixture. Gently press down along the edges to prevent the blueberries and their juices from escaping.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the crumb is golden. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of fresh cream and a cup of tea.