I discovered La Tourte aux
Myrtilles (bilberries) during a stay in the Pyrenees. It’s a delicious
cake which we were offered at breakfast by Muriel at MaisonDarrouy. You’ll need a charlotte mousse or brioche style cake
tin to achieve the same cake shape but you can bake it in a loaf tin. I tried several recipes as
Muriel suggested to suit our taste with less sugar.
La Tourte aux Myrtilles
150g/5oz
butter
3 eggs
75ml milk
130g/4½oz
caster sugar
225g/8oz
self raising flour (or plain with 1 tsp baking powder)
½ tsp
vanilla extract
1 tsp rum
(optional or adjust to your taste)
200g/7oz
bilberries/blueberries or blackberries
2 dsps
demerara sugar for topping (optional)
Pre heat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas
3. Butter and flour the cake tin and place in the fridge. Melt the butter
gently in a pan. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs. Whisk the yolks
with the melted butter and the sugar until the mixture thickens. Gradually add
the milk. Fold in the flour, vanilla extract and rum (if used). Whisk up the whites of eggs and incorporate
them gently. Finally mix in the fruit gently. Pour into the cake tin and sprinkle with demerara sugar if used. Bake
for about 1 hour until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool then turn out.
Meryl says : I remember eating wild bilberries when I was young but they are not easy to find in the wild as the season is short. So,
although La
Tourte aux Myrtilles is usually made with (wild) bilberries, you can take your pick of blueberries, blackberries. Can you tell the difference between bilberries or blueberries?