BOROUGH MARKET SECRETS FROM THE BOROUGH BELLES

Many of you may know that I am indeed part of the WI. The Borough Belles Women's Institute to precise and in recent months was made joint president. Not only does the Borough Belles give me so much fun and also contact with other like minded women, but it also makes me privy to inside information...

Each year the WI votes on a resolution, this year it is the "High Street SOS"  which you may have already seen in the press with faces such Mary Portus heading the campaign. Our very own President, Lara Clements, also became a face for this campaign by being interviewed on Channel 5 News. Read more about the campaign HERE. We were so proud of her and she'd only been given a few hours notice from WI HQ! Following the interview she headed straight to our August meeting with a talk from David Matchett, the market development manager at the famous Borough Market!

One point that was brought up during Lara's interview and also when discussing the local high street shops and markets, is the fact that it is more expensive than shopping in the big supermarkets! We put this point to David, during the Q&A, after his talk.

David agreed that Borough Market stall holders do not sell the cheapest of produce, but that it is of high quality and each stall holder could tell you where it came from and what day it was picked. Also making the point that it is only in recent years that you can buy chicken everyday due mass production and that when buying meat it would be savoured and only bought one day a week. Society has changed and people now expect & are looking for quantity rather than quality, which is what Borough Market stall holders are selling.

That said, David did inform us of how once a week a few stalls do 'food bargins' & '£1 bowls'. He has very kindly sent the Borough Belles insider info that the girls have allowed me to share with you here on Never Eat Wobbly Jelly!

For ease of location please use this link to locate the traders named below

http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/market-map

Elsey and Bent have 1kg bowls of heritage tomatoes for £1! 
Get the chutney pan on. Gary will see you right here!!

Teds Veg also has a self serve £1 selection with other fruit and veg.

Sillfield Farm Shop  has wedges (up to 250gm)  of creamy lancanshire for £2 each and also big wild boar steaks at 2 for £6 each. Ask for Peter for any porcine advise.

Une Normande a Londres, will have their 5 fromage for £10 deals back  next week, these are selections of cow,  goat, and sheep,  hard, soft, washed rind and blue, and one of the best deals on the market. Uli  will guide you on his selection of cheese and charcuterie

Also if you need to stock up the spice cupboard Mags at Spice Mountain has got a 6pack of basics for £10; Mags also gives discounts for refilling if you bring your own storage jar.

Other £1 Fruit and Veg bowls are on offer from Jock Stark Thursday to Saturday; usually an interesting selection and good quality; and from Paul Crane on Friday and Saturday. Paul Crane is great for buying in bulk, ignore the prices on the flash and buy by the case; he wont refuse any interesting offer.

Game will be coming into full swing and as the harvest approaches the time of plenty should be easier on the pockets.

Do you have any ideas for how we can support our local high streets?

Is there any local business that you think we could feature on the blog and why? 

If you do post me a comment on the NEWJ blog or feel feel to drop the Borough Belles WI a line either via their FACEBOOK PAGE or by email: boroughbelleswi@gmail.com

Spiced Apple and Banana Bundt Cake Success!

It's taken me quite some time to get this post on the blog. Better late than never.

I found this fabulous recipe on http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com it is so incredibly moorish and the caramel graze just takes it to the next level! (I nearly didn't do the glaze, big mistake if I hadn't) Plus it's full of fruit, so it's got to be slightly ..healthy?? ;)

I first made this cake for ELF cafe and blinked and it was gone. So if you want to make a winner this is the recipe for you! Oh now I went and got myself a set of 'cups' as I was ending up making so many recipes with that were measured using cups, it just seemed sensible. I have just made it a second time, just now. But instead of using white plain flour I used wholemeal self-raising flour - it's in the oven now, so it'll be interesting to see how it comes out.

Before I go on to tell you the recipe I thought I'd mention a useful piece of equipment you may want to get when baking American style recipes that use 'cups' as a measuring device. To save time working out conversions these set of measuring cups really help. Most catering shops sell them but you can also get them online.

Spiced Apple and Banana Bundt Cake with Vanilla Caramel Glaze

Makes one 12-cup Bundt or tube cake (or can be baked in two 8-by-4-inch loaf pans)

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 5 to 6 ounces vanilla or plain yogurt (one standard-sized small container; Greek yogurt is preferred, sour cream may be substituted)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon mixed all spice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 large bananas)
• 1 cup finely diced apples (1 medium apple; I used one unpeeled Gala apple)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 12-cup Bundt cake pan or tube cake pan very well with cooking spray (I use Pam For Baking with Flour and it worked so well for me that this cake literally fell out of the pan while I was beginning to inverting it before I was properly set up to catch the cake on a cutting board) or grease and flour the pan; set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. To the melted butter, add canola oil, yogurt, eggs, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cloves (all spices should be added to taste and if you don’t have all of them on hand, not a big deal to omit some) and whisk until batter is smooth and silky, about 1 minute of vigorous whisking. Add the bananas, apples, and stir to combine. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix and over-develop the gluten, which would result in a tougher cake. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 39 to 43 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean (or insert a sharp long-blade chef’s knife and it should come out clean). Allow cake to cool in pan for at least 15 minutes before inverting it and removing cake.

While cake is cooling, make the caramel sauce. Optionally, while cake is cooling poke approximately 25 holes in the top surface of the cake with a chopstick or popsicle stick. The holes will allow the glaze to seep into the cake’s interior, creating a delicious caramel-apple flavor; the drawback is that it’s not quite as pretty when sliced, but since you’re not likely going to take pictures of the cake’s interior surfaces, I’d poke the holes.

Vanilla Caramel Glaze

• Makes about 1 cup glaze, enough to generously glaze the cake
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (half of 1 stick)
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons cream or milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups+ confectioners’ sugar, sifted (must be sifted)

Note: This is a fast moving recipe; have everything in place before you begin.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. To the melted butter, add the brown sugar and bring to a boil, stirring nearly continuously. Allow the mixture to boil quite rapidly for 2 minutes, stirring nearly continuously. Remove the pan from the burner, allow it to cool for about 1 minute, and add the cream, taking caution because the mixture could bubble vigorously. Whisk aggressively to incorporate the cream and calm the bubbling.

After the bubbling has subsided, add the vanilla and whisk to combine, using caution because the alcohol in the extract could cause the mixture to bubble up again. Add the confectioners’ sugar one-half cup at a time, until desired sauce consistency is reached (I absolutely recommend using sifted sugar so the glaze is whisks up smooth, silky, and free from lumps). Pour glaze over cake and allow it to set up for a few minutes if desired; or slice and serve immediately. Cake will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. If there is extra unused glaze, it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month; gently reheat it in the microwave prior to glazing another dessert.

I finished this all off with a splattering of melted dark chocolate ;)
Hmm was soo tasty think I shall make another one this weekend!

Brioche Summer Pud Stack

First off I have to admit that the thought of summer fruit pudding has never filled me with excitement. I mention in passing to my German friend that I was thinking of giving it a go, and her response was quite funny. "Are you crazy!? Soggy bread and squishy fruit, don't do it. It sound revolting!" LOL. Anyway this in tern, made me decide to give it a go and try and find a recipe / approach that was not only delicious but also looked really appetizing.

So Sonja, here you go. I dare you to try it and dislike. I bet you a jar off nutella (she's obsessed with Nutella) that you will not only like it, but will LOVE it!

So after doing a lot of researching, I found that Gordon Ramsay had created such a recipe and it uses Brioche instead of standard bread. Brioche, not cake not bread something in between... and perfect for such a recipe.

The next task was to find a brioche loaf of bread, now I could've made it myself. But you know, sometimes it's ok not to do it all yourself. Saying that, at some point I'll probably give it a go. Anyway it turns out that most supermarkets sell them for around £1.70, so it doesn't even break the bank. Tip: Tesco's version is quite flat and you need one that you can cut into circles. I found Sainbury's & Waitrose sell such a loaf and also the small shops in London sell St Pierre Brioche sliced loaf - which is perfect.

INGREDIENTS
Stock syrup

• 
250 grams caster sugar

• 250 ml water
• 
Juice of half a lemon

Blackcurrant coulis

• 250g ripe blackcurrants
• 100ml stock syrup
• Sprig of mint

Berry Stacks

• 100ml crème fraîche
• zest of 1 lime
• 1-2 tbsp icing sugar or lemon curd
• 200g ripe strawberries
• 100g ripe blackberries or redcurrants
• 100g ripe blueberries
• 50g caster sugar
• 100g raspberries
• Frozen raspberry sorbet

Stock Syrup Method (makes more than you need, but it'll keep in the fridge & will be useful for other recipes)
Place sugar, water and lemon juice in a pot and bring to a simmer. Remove and once cool store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Now, on the actual Berry Stacks Method:
1. First, make the blackcurrant coulis. Place the blackcurrants into a pan with the stock syrup and mint and simmer for a few minutes until the fruit has softened and starts to bleed. Remove the mint, whiz the mixture in a food processor or blender, then rub through a fine sieve. Leave to cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight.
2. In a bowl, mix the crème fraîche with the lime zest and a little icing sugar to taste, I used lemon curd :). Cover the bowl with cling film and chill until ready to use.
3. Cut off all the crusts from the brioche loaf then cut the loaf into eight long thin slices. (You can chill the loaf overnight to make it easier to slice). Using a 5-6cm deep round cutter, cut out 12-18 rounds from the brioche.
4. Hull and slice the strawberries crossways into rounds. Halve the blackberries and blueberries (this will enable them to lie flat between the brioche layers). Taste the fruit and dust with a little icing sugar if they are too tart.
5. Lay a small square of baking parchment on a board and place the pastry cutter on top. Quickly dip a brioche round into the blackcurrant coulis to coat all over, then place in the base of the cutter or even better, a rosti ring. Arrange a layer of strawberry slices in the cutter, then cover with another coulis-dipped brioche round. Make a layer of blueberries and blackberries on top, followed by a final piece of dipped brioche. Press down lightly to set the shape of the pudding stacks.
6. Using a palette knife, slide the stack onto a serving plate, discarding the paper. Remove the cutter and use to make the other stacks. Top each stack with a quenelle of the crème fraîche and a final drizzle of blackcurrant coulis. Garnish the plates with a few raspberries and if you're feeling extra naughty a small scoop of raspberry sorbet ;)

Now how good does this look!?! Can't tell you how excited I was about the results, to the point it could be classed as one of my fav puds!!

Morning Smoothie

First blog on the move via phone. No reason for months to pass without blogging!

So what with this heat, I decided to have a refreshing fruit smoothie for my brekkie. 

Blueberries, 

Blackberries, 

Skimmed milk, 

A couple of ice cubes 

& a dash of vanilla extract. 

Whizz with a hand blender & voila!

Yum!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

That's a wrap!

So we've done breakfast / brunch, how about a healthy lunch? So back to the cook-book cupboard & I pulled out all the healthy / low fat etc etc sounding cook books. I have to say when you pull out a recipe from one of these books, you never expect an amazing or tasty meal. Because to be fair you think they extract all the best bits!

Well I have been corrected!!! This was amazing and delicious. A big thumbs up even from Mr Williams who doesn't like fish (it's boring supposedly..)

 

Spiced crusted salmon Recipe:

1 Large clove of garlic, peeled and chopped.
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 x150g salmon fillets with skin on
seasoning
a little sunflower oil.
Mango Salsa recipe:
1 small ripe mango, peeled, stoned & finely chopped.
1/2 small cucumber, peeled, deseeded & finely chopped.
1/2-1 whole red chilli, deseeded finely chopped
1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
A handful of roughly chopped coriander
Zest of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoon lime juice (around 1 lime)
seasoning

Method:
First make the salsa. Stir all the salsa ingredients together & season well. Allow the mixture to marinade for at least an hour before serving.
For the salmon, use a pestle and mortar to make a paste from the garlic, sugar, chilli flakes, thyme, fennel seeds & lime juice.
Place the salmon fillets skin side down on a non-stick baking tray. (Or in a tub to marinade for longer if you wish). Brush the salmon with a little oil and season well. Spoon over the paste onto the flesh and leave for to marinade for at least 10 mintues.
Pre-heat the oven 200oc/180oc fan. Bake salmon in the oven for 11-12mins or until cooked through. Leaving the skin on the baking tray serve the salmon in a wholemeal wrap with the mango salsa and a bit of spinach. Wrap it up and take a chunk! yum!!

A Sunny Sunday Roast

Every Sunday without fail Pete suggests we should have a 'ROAST'. A very manly request, that takes them back to the feral carnivorous stages of wanting MEAT and two veg. Anyway don't know if you noticed but this weekend was a bit of a scortcher and even though saturday had all the glory Sunday was still rather hot day. so the thought of having a heavy hot roast dinner wasn't really very appertising.

As my mother has always said to me ' compromise, compromise, compromise' and my father says 'Don't see a problem, See a solution'. Wise words don't you think! So knowing that a salad would not to do I thought we should just combine the two. Nice and easy.

So here is what I made: Whole chicken baked with rosemary & garlic - A great recipe from AntonioCarluccio's simple cooking book.

Served with a simple salad and also a spicy puy lentil, bean, broccoli salad. Ooo will be doing that puy lentil salad again it was lush!

SPICY PUY LENTIL BEAN SALAD

• 100g Puy lentils
• 500ml hot vegetable stock
• 100g broccoli
• 70g frozen soya beans , thawed
• 70g sugarsnap peas
• 1 red chilli , deseeded and sliced

FOR THE DRESSING

• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• juice 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 40ml reduced-salt soy sauce
• 3cm piece root giner, finely grated
• 1 tbsp clear honey  

1. Boil lentils in stock until just cooked, about 15 mins. Drain, then tip into a large bowl. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, throw in the broccoli for 1 min, add the beans and peas for 1 min more. Drain, then cool under cold water. Pat dry, then add to the bowl with the lentils.
2. Mix together the dressing ingredients with some seasoning. Pour over the lentils and veg, then mix in well with the chopped chilli. Pile onto a serving platter or divide between 4 plates and serve. 

And then to finish off individual rhubarb, apple & raspberry crumble served with orange creme fraiche. Hmm maybe I ended up making a pretty big meal anyway!? Rhubarb is ace!

BananaRaraama Smoothie

 

Hello all, so I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before on the blog but I am addicted to ice cream and therefore never have it on the blog or rarely in the house. The reason for this is firstly if it is in the house, it's only there for seconds and therefore I'm never quick enough to take any photos and blog about about it. A sad situation I know......

Anyway as I never loose the erge / need for ice cream I am over the moon to have found a replacement! It's even reasonably healthy too and you can have it any time of the day including for brekkie!!

Seriously it's ubber delicious and creamy, just hope I don't get addicted to these as well!??!

Ingredients

1/2	banana, sliced
6	oz skim milk
1	tsp vanilla extract
2	tbsp plain yogurt
1/3	cup ice, crushed

1. Chop half a banana into slices, place in plastic baggy and freeze overnight. (Do the same with the other half and save for future shake. Trust me, there will be a future shake.)
   
2. Gather ingredients.
   
3. Place half banana (now chopped and frozen) into blender. Add 1/3 cup ice, 6 ounces of skimmed milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, plus the yogurt. Blend until smooth.
   
4. (Optional: Add a bit of honey for extra sweetness)
   
5. Pour mix into tall glass. (Optional: Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder on shake.)
   
6. Drink it. The world it good again! :D.

Lemonade Cake!

This weekend was so beautiful and sunny I decided a summery pud/cake was in order! I've got two 'seasonal food' cook books at home and was looking through them for inspiration when I came across this recipe. I had to re-read it THREE times. I mean seriously the base is just made of self-raing flour, cream and LEMONADE!?!?!?

Thought it was crazy and therefore had to be tried! Since reading the web a bit further, it's quite a common recipe... for scones. It makes sense as the recipe said the base should be scone-like.

 

It was a delicious pud and I would make it again, except I need to make the base lighter in texture. It was rather dense & heavy. After reading up afterwards, they do say that the lemonade-scone recipe is quite a doughy one. Also "not to mix it too much" I may have mixed a bit too much - I think I got a bit over excited about stiring lemonade into a cake mixture. Reminded me of making 'mud pies' as a kid...ha  hmmm... any way I digress. But yeah I deffinitly need to give it a second chance and perhaps cook at a higher temp than was suggested in the recipe I followed.

Thinking about it I think I was very lucky with getting the fruit. What with British raspberries not been in season yet and with this CRAZY ash cloud stopping any imports... I was very lucky to find them on offer in the local shop :D

 

RECIPE: (original recipe from "Kitchen Seasons" - Ross Dobson)

375g Self-raising flour

500ml whipping cream

250ml lemonade

100g raspberry jam

1 tablespoon icing sugar

2 peaches, stoned and sliced

1 punnet fresh raspberries

a 20cm fluted, loose bottomed tart tin, lightly greased (I only had a 25cm dia one, seemed to work ok)

Preheat the oven to 180oc (when I bake this again I think I'd put it up too 200oc). Sieve the flour in a large bowl, measure half the cream and all of the lemonade in a jug together & pour into the bowl with the flour. Fold in gently, be careful not too over mix, as this will make the base really tough and dense.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin & gently level out. Pop in the pre-heated oven for 30-35minutes, until golden on top (do not open the oven till you need to at the end). Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack for 10mins. Then remove from the tin to completely cool.

Once it is 'completely cool' slice 0.5cm off the top to level it off. Then spread the jam across the top.

Whip the remaining cream with the tablespoon of icing sugar until it forms soft peaks. Spoon the cream on top of the cake, arrange the fruit on top and serve!

 

All the sunshine this weekend has made very excited about the summer & having 'Cream Teas!'. So I'm gonna be on the search for an amazing scone recipe, so if you know one do let me know. Think I might have to do a load of taste testing to work out which is the best..... Gonna need some test eaters hmmm... perhaps everyone at work?

Back with a zesty Punch!

Hi all,

I know I've been a bit slack recently and haven't done many posts since March!? But I'm back now and have another delicious cake recipe to share with you.

April is rather a hectic month, not only is it my Sister's birthday, but also 3 other friends and I've got pete's coming up too (he's already requested a choc cake in adavance).

Any ho we've had Pete's brother and wife up this weekend. I have to say I do love someone who gets excited about eating cake and Martin is deffinitly one of them! So after my sister's / Easter weekend of chcocolate eggs, chocolate cake, choc morsels and general chocolate I thought lemon was the way forward.

LEMON DRENCHED LOAF 
Recipe:
175g Stork marg (brilliant marg to use for cakes!)
175g Golden caster suger (like to think because it's golden it is therefore healthier!)
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
175g Self-raising flour
pinch salt
3 tablespoons of milk
50g granulated sugar
Juice of 2 lemons (around 3 tablespoons)

Topping:
150g mascapone (roughly half a tub)
juice of one small lemon
2 tablespoons granulated golden sugar (granulated so it gives you that extra crunch!)

*Preheat the oven to 180oc (170oc fan assisted). Line the bottom and sides of a loaf tin (I used one that was 11x18x8cm)with baking parchment and a bit of butter. Get all your ingredients weighed out and ready, seriously this makes it way more fun!
*Cream together the marg and caster sugar together until really pale and fluffy - take your time there is no need to rush. Get your gently beaten eggs and add a little bit, beating a bit, add a bit, beat a bit. Till all beaten in.
*Add your zest, then sieve the flour and pinch of salt into the bowl. Gently fold in the flour, salt and the stir on the milk.
*Turn the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for about 35-45minutes until springy to the touch and a metal skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven but leave in the tin.
*Put the 50g granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time as the sugar dissolves. Boil strongly for half a minute..
*Make several holes in the cake with a skewer, going right to the bottom of the tin. Pour the hot syrup all over the cake, letting it soal into the cake. Leave to cool in the tin.
*Once cool, hold the edges of the baking parchment and carefully lift the cake out the tin & peel away the paper.

Finally the topping, as it's a sweet cake it always nice to have a slightly refreshing topping. Add the juice of the lemon to the mascapone (add a bit at a time to taste) then mix together adding the granulated sugar as you go. Taste... yum....
Spread the topping onto the cake with a small pallette knife and decorated with thick slithers of lemon zest.

After having a lovely cuppa tea and a slice of the lemon cake we went for a walk and found another thing that seem to entertain Martin. Mini horses fighting!?... he was laughing hysetrically for a good 10 minutes :D

You've got to love random life. :D

Plum Fruity Chutney

So this was the second chutney I made. It isn't as firery as the first chutney but still has a little kick and is good for those who like a chutney to be a little sweetness to it.

Again like any chutney, always works best if you have an abundance of the main fruit used. However as I don't have a plum tree or even a garden, buying them in season, on offer from the supermarket is just as good.

I found this recipe on http://www.bbcgoodfood.com

RECIPE:

• 900g plums
• 2 Bramley apples (about 550g/1lb 4oz)
• 450g pears
• 1 large mango
• 900g muscovado sugar
• 500ml bottle cider vinegar
• 2 medium onions (not red)
• 85g chopped stem ginger (from a jar of ginger in syrup, or crystallized)
• 3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 rounded tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp crushed dried chillies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
  

METHOD:

1. Halve, stone and chop the plums (about the same size as you would for an apple pie - not too big, not too small). Drop them into a large saucepan. Core, peel and chop the apples and pears in the same way. Peel, stone and chop the mango. Put all the fruit in the pan.
2. Stir sugar, vinegar, onions, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, coriander, crushed chillies and salt into the pan, then drop the cinnamon stick on top. Heat slowly for about 20 mins, giving an occasional stir, until the sugar has dissolved. Now leave the chutney to simmer at a steady pace, without a lid, stirring occasionally until reduced and thickened, but still with a nice balance of syrupy juice. This will take about 1½ hrs. You don't want to cook it until all the liquid has gone, as it will thicken once it cools. Discard the cinnamon stick.
3. Using a heatproof jug, pour the chutney while still hot into sterilised jars. It will keep for about a year in a cool, dry place.

Blueberry Zest Cake

Darker days, dreary weather and just a general feeling of yuk... So I decided bake a bright blueberry punch of a cake with a zesty kick to cheer things up a bit.

You can use any berries you have about & even mix them up a bit. Blueberries were on offer in the supermarket so I went with them.



Recipe:

225g softened butter , plus extra for greasing
225g golden caster sugar
4 medium eggs
2 limes, grated zest and juice
250g self-raising flour
25g ground almonds
200g blueberries

The syrup recipe:

8 tbsp lime juice (about 4 limes)
1 lime, grated zest
140g golden caster sugar


Method:

1. Line the base and grease the sides of a 20cm/8in square cake tin (not loose-based) with greaseproof paper and butter the paper - or you can divde the mixture into two smaller tins like I did - One cake for you and another for someone else :).
2. Set oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan oven 160C.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour towards the end to prevent curdling. Beat in the lime zest, then fold in the flour and almonds. Fold in enough lime juice - about 3 tablespoons - to give you a good dropping consistency (the mixture should drop easily from the spoon when tapped).
4. Fold in three quarters of the blueberries and raspberries and turn into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface, then scatter the remaining fruit on top - it will sink as the cake rises.
5. Bake for about 1 hour (cover with foil if beginning to brown too much), or until firm to a gentle prod in the centre. A skewer pushed into the centre should be clean when removed.
6. Meanwhile make the syrup: put the lime juice, zest and sugar in a small saucepan. Put over a gentle heat and stir, without allowing to bubble. The sugar should dissolve a little. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick all over with a skewer then spoon the syrup over it. To store, cool before wrapping in paper and/or foil.
7. Fill the kettle make a brew. Carefully remove the cake from the tin, discard the lining paper and cut into 12 pieces to serve. YUM!