This seemingly plain cake conceals treasure within – pops of delicious, tangy gooseberry to cut through the moist sponge

GOOSEBERRY CAKE

200g very soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
200g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
200g plain flour
75g soured cream or natural yogurt
100g oat flour (see below)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
300g gooseberries
5 tbsp demerara sugar

1 To make the oat flour, put the oats into a food processor and blitz on a high-speed setting for 5 mins or until you have a fine flour. Use on the day of making.
2 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160F/ 350F. Grease a 20cm round, loose-bottomed cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
3 In a bowl, beat the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding 2 tbsp of the flour with each addition (to stop batter splitting). Once all the eggs are added, stir in the soured cream or
yogurt. Once combined, fold in the remaining plain flour, oat flour and baking powder.
4 When the mixture is smooth, stir in the vanilla and 200g of the gooseberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, then top with the remaining berries and sprinkle over the demerara sugar.
5 Bake for 45–50 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Recipe from Gatherings by Flora Shedden (Mitchell Beazley).