Black Currant Cake

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Soft black currant cake, easy to make and full of flavor. This rustic-looking currant cake is what you need if you happen to get your hands on some berries. Only 6 ingredients.

Or try this easy black currant jam, it is one of my favorites, it has a really special flavor. You could also make Creme de Cassis or Black Currant Cordial.

Black currant cake – easy to make actually, but not that easy to plan to make it. Finding black currants can be a challenge, I know that I was never able to buy them. I do have a bush in the garden, but I am afraid that the crop hasn’t been that impressive during the past two years, no idea why…

All I managed to get this year were the currants I used to make this cake… Not much… But the cake was all worth it! Soft and sweet and of a really special flavor, the black currants have their own specific and a rather strong flavor and you will really be able to taste them. And that is the point of it, isn’t it?

What are black currants?

Black currant is a shrub growing in the temperate zones of central and northern Europe and in northern Asia.

They have an intense tart flavor, yet they are sweeter than the red or white currants. Tart, yet somehow heartier, smokier, more aromatic.

They are full of vitamins, especially Vitamin C. Actually, during World War II children in the UK were given a cordial of black currant and water as a Vitamin C supplement in order to avoid scurvy.

While these particular currants have always been popular in Britain and Europe generally, they are pretty much unknown in the US. The reason for that is a decades-long ban starting in the early 20th century. Black currants bushes were apparently spreading a fungus that was affecting white pine trees, which were vital for timber production in the country. However, some states started to lift this ban in 2003 and black currants are grown again in the US.

What do you need for the cake?

Berries:

• About 250 g/ 8.8 oz/ about 2-3 cups black currants. The exact amount is not vital, a little more or less is fine.
• The berries can be replaced with red or white ones. As you might notice in the pictures I used a tiny amount of white currants as well. That was all I manage to get from an entire bush this year… about 20 berries…

Alternatives:

• Just in case you cannot get enough or any black currants, you could still bake this cake with pretty much any kind of berry you like: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries.
• You can use fresh, frozen or canned berries.
• Other choices would be sweet or sour cherries, chopped peaches or nectarines, actually pretty much anything, the cake is very versatile.

Other ingredients: soft butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder.

How to make?

• This currant cake is super easy to make.
• Preferably, use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients, it is the best thing you could do to ensure that your cakes turn out right.
• Take the butter out of the refrigerator in time to allow it to get soft.
• Mix the butter and the sugar until creamy.
• Add the eggs one by one and stir well.
• Mix the flour and baking powder, sift them over the mixture and mix in shortly.
• Get the batter into the baking dish.
• Cover with berries.
• Bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Let cool slightly in the springform, remove, and let cool on a wire rack.

How to serve?

• The black currant cake can be served warm or at room temperature.
• When served warm, I like to top it with some vanilla ice.
• Otherwise, sprinkle it with a little icing sugar before serving.
• For a really decadent treat, serve it with whipped cream or a mixture of creme fraiche sweetened with a little brown sugar, I love that mixture.

How to store?

• The cake keeps well for a couple of days at room temperature. Keep it wrapped in a clean kitchen towel or in an airtight container.
• If refrigerated (in an airtight container) it will keep for 4-5 days, it will become denser, but it will still taste very good.
• You can also freeze leftover slices. Wrap them in cling film, place them in airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

What other cakes to make with black currants?

All the following cakes are made with other berries, but you can replace those, either partially or entirely, with black currants, if you happen to have lots of them.

• Marzipan Pastries
• Fresh Blackberry Cake
• Blackberry Crumble Pie
• Blueberry Sour Cream Cake
• Cherry Loaf Cake