When we had a 7 hour stop over at Heathrow in 2016 we checked in our bags and headed into London for lunch. I had a specific mission to visit Ottolenghi’s Deli in Belgravia as I already had a couple of his books and wanted to get a feel of his food.

It is a tiny narrow shop located in Motcomb Street. As you enter you pass tables and display cases piled with the most stunning patisserie and deli foods. At the back of the shop there is one large communal table. The menu changes daily so you order whatever takes your fancy on that day. They do not take reservations, so our arrival after 2pm gave us a better chance of getting a seat.

I do not have many patisserie or bakery cook books, but after salivating at the beautiful cakes and pastries in the deli I could not resist Ottolenghi’s new book Sweet. I immediately bookmarked his Coconut, almond and blueberry cake!

 

So when I was introduced to a local supplier of plump fresh blueberries last week, I simply had to make this cake.

The cake uses ground almonds, which I love for texture and flavour. I found that I did not have enough ground almonds in the pantry, so I substituted it with ground macadamias.

The recipe has plenty of butter, eggs and sugar, all ingredients that contribute to moisture so the cake was still delicious after 4 days.

I do not have a sweet tooth and am not too keen on cakes with frosting or icing, so this style of cake appeals to me. I also like baked products that can double up as a dessert. As Ottolenghi suggests, it can be served warm with a dollop of cream or ice cream as a dessert, so the recipe had extra appeal.

I think it will also be delicious if the blueberries are replaced with cape gooseberries or raspberries.

It is such an easy recipe, try it!

There are several other recipes that I can’t wait to try in this beautiful book. If you are into baking, I would advise that you place it on your ‘Christmas’ list!

Recipe: Coconut, almond and blueberry cake