Blueberry and Almond Sheetcake

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C or 180°C fan.
2. Pour your almond milk and vegetable oil into a jug. Then mix with a fork to combine.
3. Crack in both eggs and add your vanilla extract. Then mix again until fully incorporated .
4. Add your flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and caster sugar into a mixing bowl.
5. Mix on a low speed with a paddle attachment until you have a breadcrumb consistency. This should take roughly 2-4 mins.
6. Next, slowly add the wet ingredients to the mixer while mixing continuously on a low speed. Once all the wet ingredients are incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes without stopping.
7. Add your blueberries to a bowl and add 1 tbsp of plain flour. Mix until the blueberries are fully coated.
8. Pour the blueberries into the cake batter and fold them in with a spatula until evenly dispersed.
9. Add your cake batter into a greased and lined rectangular tin. I used a 9 x 13 inch tray.
10. Use a spoon to smooth the cake batter into the tin neatly.
11. Bake the sponge for 25 - 35 minutes. You will know it’s baked when it’s a light golden colour and a skewer comes out completely clean.
12. While the sponge is cooling move on to making your Buttercream.
13. Buttercream: Place your butter in a mixing bowl and beat for 10 minutes until it becomes soft and paler in colour. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula now and then.
14. Gradually mix in your icing sugar and add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
15. To make your buttercream as white as possible, mix in a small drop of purple food colouring.
16. Leave your buttercream to mix on a low speed for 5 minutes to create a soft texture
17. DECORATION DIRECTIONS Add your buttercream onto the cooled sponge and smooth it neatly with a palette knife,
18. Add small dollops of blueberry jam across the sponge. Then, using a skewer, swirl it in circular motions to create a marble pattern.
19. To finish, decorate with some blueberries in your chosen pattern. You could also add some mint leaves if desired.
20. Allow the buttercream to set for a minimum of 1 hour before tucking in and enjoying.
21. This cake is best kept in the fridge and will last for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen.