Bilberries or blueberries - take your pick!

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?