An easy blackcurrant cake with a sweet and zingy lemon drizzle!
The blackcurrant loaf cake is the perfect balance of sweet fluffy cake crumb and tart juicy blackcurrants! Best of all you can use fresh or frozen blackcurrants, so it's a cake that can be enjoyed all year round!
Made with a handful of simple ingredients, the cake is lovely and moist thanks to the ground almonds used in the cake batter.
It's great for Afternoon tea, bake sales, or even served as a simple blackcurrant dessert with a dollop of clotted cream or vanilla ice cream, just like my blackcurrant crumble!
👩🍳 Love blackcurrants? Try my easy blackcurrant coulis recipe next!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- An easy blackcurrant recipe.
- Uses fresh or frozen blackcurrants.
- Moist and fluffy loaf cake.
- Freezer-friendly.
What are blackcurrants?
Blackcurrants are small berries that grow on bushes. When blackcurrants are ripe and ready for harvesting they have a very dark blue-purple colour, almost verging on black. They are tart, tangy, and sour, and usually need to be sweetened with sugar or honey before eating.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Blackcurrants - finding fresh blackcurrants can be a bit of a challenge. If you're not lucky enough to have blackcurrant bushes in your garden or allotment, seek out frozen blackcurrants from farm shops (often sold loose in the freezer section) or try large supermarkets.
- Plain Flour - one tablespoon is needed to coat the blackcurrants before they are added to the cake mixture.
- Butter - unsalted butter which has been softened.
- Sugar - white caster sugar or granulated sugar can be used.
- Eggs - 4 large eggs at room temperature.
- Lemon - use an unwaxed lemon if possible as you need the zest for the cake batter.
- Flour - self-raising flour, or use plain flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder added.
- Ground Almonds - if you don't want to use ground almonds, swap for more flour or desiccated coconut.
- The lemon drizzle is made by mixing caster sugar with fresh lemon juice.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Coat the blackcurrants in plain flour and shake until every one is coated.
Two: In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy.
Three: Beat in the eggs.
Four: Fold in the flour, lemon zest, and ground almonds.
Five: Spoon half the cake mixture into the loaf tin.
Six: Fold the flour-coated blackcurrants through the remaining half of the mixture and spoon into the loaf tin.
Seven: Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. Cover with foil after 50 minutes to prevent the top of the cake from burning.
Eight: Mix together the caster and lemon juice for the drizzle and spoon over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Nine: Allow the cake to cool in the tin. Run a round-edged knife between the cake and the tin and carefully remove to a cake plate.
💭 Expert tips
- If you're using freshly picked blackcurrants, first remove the stems, then place them in a colander and wash them under cold running water to get rid of dirt and insects. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- Help prevent the blackcurrants from sinking to the bottom of the cake by first coating them with a little bit of plain flour, and then folding them into only half of the cake batter (spoon the other half without the blackcurrants into the loaf tin first). Don't worry if most of your blackcurrants sink though, it will still taste great!
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before starting the recipe, especially the eggs. This will help achieve a light fluffy texture to the cake.
- Fold the flour carefully into the cake mixture rather than beating it in and losing all of the air.
- Don't skip lining the tin. It will prevent the cake from sticking and burning!
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the blackcurrant cake for Afternoon tea, pack slices into lunchboxes, or take on summer picnics. I've also been known to eat it for breakfast with Greek yogurt!
It's a delicious dessert with ice cream (try my easy no churn honeycomb ice cream recipe!), or whipped cream.
📖 Variations
- Swap the lemon zest for vanilla extract.
- Use other berries such as raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries (you might want to check out my blackberry loaf cake).
- Top the cake with a crumble topping rather than a lemon drizzle.
- Add a handful of chopped nuts to the cake batter. Pecans or walnuts would work well.
- Fold in white chocolate chunks. Sweet white chocolate pairs nicely with the tart fruity black currants.
🥡 Storage
Store: The cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake tin. It will keep for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Allow the cake to cool, wrap in two layers of foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before slicing and serving.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Blackcurrants are high in antioxidants, especially vitamin C, which can help to give your immune system a boost, allowing your body to fight infection and viruses more effectively.
Did you know blackcurrants carry four times the amount of vitamin C as oranges, and double the amount of antioxidants as blueberries!
Here are a few ideas!
1. Blackcurrant coulis
2. Blackcurrant muffins
3. Blackcurrant cordial
4. Cassis
5. Cheesecake
5. Compote
6. Jam
7. Cake
8. Blackcurrant crumble
Blackcurrants ripen by the time summer starts, so you can harvest them from your garden between June and August. They are at their best in July!
😋 More loaf cake recipes
- Lime and Coconut Loaf Cake
- Marzipan Loaf Cake
- Lemon Curd Loaf Cake
- Madeira Loaf Cake
- Golden Syrup Loaf Cake
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Recipe
Easy Blackcurrant Cake
Equipment
- Kitchen Scales
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- 2lb Loaf Tin
- Baking Paper
Ingredients
- 175 g Blackcurrants stems removed, washed & dried
- 1 tablespoon Plain Flour
- 225 g Unsalted Butter
- 225 g Caster Sugar
- 4 Eggs large
- 200 g Self Raising Flour
- 30 g Ground Almonds
- 1 Lemon zest only
For the lemon drizzle
- 60 g Caster Sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°c (160 fan/ Gas 4/ 350F) and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with non stick baking parchment.
- Coat the blackcurrants in plain flour and shake until every one is coated.175 g Blackcurrants, 1 tablespoon Plain Flour
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy.225 g Unsalted Butter, 225 g Caster Sugar
- Beat in the eggs.4 Eggs
- Fold in the flour, ground almonds and lemon zest.200 g Self Raising Flour, 30 g Ground Almonds, 1 Lemon
- Spoon half the cake mixture into the loaf tin.
- Fold the flour-coated blackcurrants through the remaining half of the mixture and spoon into the loaf tin.
- Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. Cover with foil after 50 minutes to prevent the top of the cake from burning.
- Mix together the caster and lemon juice for the drizzle and spoon over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.60 g Caster Sugar, 1-2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin. Run a round-edged knife between the cake and the tin and carefully remove to a cake plate.
Notes
- If you're using freshly picked blackcurrants, first remove the stems, then place them in a colander and wash them under cold running water to get rid of dirt and insects. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- Help prevent the blackcurrants from sinking to the bottom of the cake by first coating them with a little bit of plain flour, and then folding them into only half of the cake batter (spoon the other half without the blackcurrants into the loaf tin first). Don't worry if most of your blackcurrants sink though, it will still taste great!
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before starting the recipe, especially the eggs. This will help achieve a light fluffy texture to the cake.
- Swap the lemon zest for vanilla extract.
- Use other berries such as raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries (you might want to check out my blackberry loaf cake).
- Top the cake with a crumble topping rather than a lemon drizzle.
- Add a handful of chopped nuts to the cake batter. Pecans or walnuts would work well.
- Fold in white chocolate chunks. Sweet white chocolate pairs nicely with the tart fruity black currants.
Elaine Williams
Just made your blackcurrant cake. Super easy to make, but more importantly it tastes great! Love it, thank you.