If you have been following my blog for a while you will know that desserts are not really my thing.  I am not a sweet tooth but every now and then I like to indulge.  Recently I held a surprise party for my gorgeous sister and I catered for over 20 people.  I did a Mexican inspired spread as it is the perfect cuisine for large numbers.  I lay awake one night wondering what sort of cake I could make (cakes are definitely not my forte) that would stick to the Mexican theme and just knew I had to do something with tortillas.  It was the start of something beautiful.  Layer upon layer of chewy tortillas lightly fried in butter and brown sugar, filled with a light cream cheese/cream mix infused with lemon and a gorgeously sticky blueberry compote.  Heaven on a plate and a huge success all round.  My sister claimed it was the BEST cake she had ever had.  A very proud Em’s Food moment…….

Prep time:  1 Hour           Cooking time:  25  Minutes             $$  Low to Medium Budget

Serves 10  (not everyone had cake!)

10 medium sized wheat tortillas

100gm of butter, 50gm melted and 50gm at room temperature

1/2 cup of brown sugar

For the cream cheese filling:

250gm of cream cheese (room temperature)

600ml of pure cream

1/2 cup of caster sugar

Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the Blueberry Compote:

500gm of frozen blueberries

1/4 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 tsp of cornflour mixed with 1/4 cup of cold water

This cake can be made ahead but the tortillas and blueberry compote need to be chilled before assembling.

Heat a large non stick frypan and add a little butter.  Lightly brush one side of a tortilla with the melted butter and with your fingers, sprinkle over a little brown sugar.  Fry sugar side down until the tortilla starts to bubble.  Sprinkle the upside with a little sugar and then flip and fry the other side until golden.  Remove and lay on a plate lined with baking paper.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas, adding a little more butter to the pan as needed.  Allow the tortillas to cool completely before assembling.

Place the Blueberries in a saucepan, setting aside one cup to add at the end.  Add the sugar, water, lemon juice and zest and bring the mixture to the boil.  Reduce to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Pour in the cornflour mixed with water and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened.  Add the remaining blueberries and stir to combine.  Remove from the heat and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until chilled.

Use a kitchen aid or hand blender to combine the softened cream cheese, lemon juice, zest and sugar until light, fluffy and well combined.  In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form and the cream sticks to the beaters.  Use a spatula to scoop the cream into the cream cheese mixture and then beat on low for a minute or two until the mixture is combined.  Be careful not to over work as the cream will turn to butter.

To assemble the cake place a tortilla on a serving plate.  Place enough cream cheese mixture to coat the tortilla right to the edges and then place another tortilla on top.  Repeat another cream cheese layer and make your third layer a blueberry layer.  Repeat this process until you get to the top and your final layer should be cream cheese topped with blueberry.  Don’t be too precious about keeping it neat, this looked amazing with the blueberry compote oozing down the sides (just like in the picture!).  Once assembled place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.  I will admit I was concerned as to how it would slice but as it had time to set in the fridge it cut beautifully with all of the layers holding together.  This was the absolute bomb…..not too heavy, not too sweet…..

Just before serving, dust the cake with a sprinkling of icing sugar.  Happy Birthday Megsy!!