Our giant mulberry tree is groaning under the weight of a bumper crop of berries this year.  It is a focus for the whole neighbourhood to come and share in in the bounty and eat the glossy, sweet black berries straight from the tree. This recipe includes mulberries and some rhubarb in a delicious citrus cake with a crusty cinnamon sugar topping.

If there are no mulberries available at this time of the year where you live, blueberries or raspberries can make a good substitute.  It is a truly delicious tea cake.

Mulberry and Rhubarb Tea Cake

Ingredients:

• 120g  butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup Caster  sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of chopped rhubarb
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mulberries
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with 2 Tblsp Caster sugar for the topping
• Grated zest of an orange
• Juice of an orange

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170º C Fan forced
2. Line a 21 x 21 cm square baking tin with baking paper
3. Wash the mulberries and dry on kitchen paper
4. Using kitchen scissors, cut the stems from each mulberries
5. Trim enough of a rhubarb stalk and chop into 1 cm cubes to make about 1/4 cup
6. Sift flour and salt
7. Using a food processor, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest
8. Add the eggs one at a time, processing for 10 seconds after each addition
9. Add a little of  the flour, then alternate adding a little of the milk, or  orange juice processing till well combined after each addition. Finish off with a liquid
10. Stir in the chopped rhubarb pieces into the batter
11. Pour the batter into the lined baking tin and tap to release any air bubbles
12. Scatter the mulberries evenly over the cake
13. Gently  press the mulberries down into the cake batter
14. Scatter the vanilla sugar over the cake batter 
15.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer can be removed cleanly. Check after 40 minutes and cover loosly with foil if the cake is browning too quickly.
16. Remove from the oven and cool in the baking pan for 8 minutes, then carefully remove to a cooling rack.
17. Serve with a good dollop of double cream