Gooseberries may not be a superfood but they can be a surprisingly super ingredient

Gooseberries are natures little balls of nutrients, low in calories, high in fibre and a great source of vitamins and minerals

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There is no scientific basis for labelling a food as a “superfood,” and the term is typically used as a marketing tool to sell a specific product, sometimes at a higher price. Although we as dietitians would not classify any food as a superfood, gooseberries can be a surprisingly powerful ingredient.

The gooseberry bush in my mum’s garden was loaded with fruit and so avoiding the thorns as best I could, I managed to pick a bag full in no time. In the past, when faced with this abundance of fruit, I have to admit that I have always made a traditional gooseberry crumble, which is delicious, but this time I decided to try something new, a gooseberry cake. The tartness of the gooseberries, combined with the delicate flavours of lemon and elderflower, complements the sweetness of the cake mixture perfectly. During baking, the gooseberries dissolve into the cake batter, resulting in a moist, flavourful cake. Conveniently, the result can be frozen for later use.

Ingredients

Image by Celia Mannering Copyright-free

Method

1. Put gooseberries, elderflower cordial, golden syrup and sugar in saucepan, bring to the boil
2. Meanwhile, mix cornflour to a paste with a little cold water
3. As soon as the gooseberry mixture has come to the boil, turn down heat to medium, add the cornflour and stirring continually until the mixture thickens (the consistency should be like jam)
4. As soon as it has thickened, remove from heat and set aside to cool
5. Pre-heat oven to 170°C and line a cake tin (I used a 26cm x 21cm tin) with baking paper
6. Beat butter, caster sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract together in a mixer until pale in colour
7. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating well between each addition, adding a tablespoon of the flour every now and again to ensure that the mixture doesn’t curdle
8. Fold in remainder of the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and yogurt
9. Spread ¾ of the cake mixture in the bottom of the cake tin
10. Spread the cooled gooseberry mixture over the cake mixture and drop teaspoon dollops of the remaining cake mixture over the top of the gooseberry mixture
11. Put cake in oven for 45–50 mins until firm and a skewer comes out clean
12. To make icing: mix icing sugar with enough of the lemon juice to make a thick but runny icing (you probably won’t need the juice of the whole lemon)
13. Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over the cake
14. Cut cake into portions once cold
15. Serve on its own or with crème fraiche

Finally, enjoy the gooseberry cake with a cup of your favourite tea on a warm summer afternoon.