baking with blueberries
'Tis the season, you know. And we went out blueberry picking at our friend's property at the weekend. The weather held, dinner was eaten, and an exciting game of snooker took place before we left bearing gifts. Vast quantities of the berries came home with us, some of which were stashed in the freezer for later, some of which are patiently waiting to be made into pie, crumble, or toppings for ice cream and cake.
It is the latter - the toppings for ice cream and cake - which is first on display here. I used one of my favorite recipes for the cake, Lucinda Scala Quinn's Mad Hungry 'Greek Yoghurt Cake'.So delicious! And easy-peasy to make. Here's how you do it:
2 cups flour, all-purpose
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup Greek yoghurt, fat-free
3/4 cup honey
12 tablespoons butter, unsalted and room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Step 1 - Prepare the oven and pan. With the rack in the middle, preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour (or spray with Pam) your pan, a 9x2 springform works best.
Step 2 - Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 3 - In a separate small bowl, stir together the yoghurt and honey.
Step 4 - Using a mixer (either hand or stand), beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Finally, add the flour mixture and the yoghurt mixture to the butter mixture in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, e.g. 1/3 flour - 1/2 yoghurt - 1/3 flour - 1/2 yoghurt - 1/3 flour.
Step 5 - Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top.
Step 6 - Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and you get a clean toothpick. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; then remove the cake from the pan, invert it onto the wire rack, and let cool completely.
Step 7 - Slice the cake, top with blueberries - either freshly-picked or as a syrup, and enjoy!
To make the tasty blueberry syrup topping shown above, I followed this two-step this recipe:
3 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Step 1 - Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer; cook until berries break down.
Step 2 - Let cool; cover and refrigerate until cold. Keeps up to 3 days.
However you choose to use them, enjoy the blueberry season. A terrific topping for this Greek yoghurt cake. Or on ice cream. Or on this almond cake by LibertyLondonGirl, another easy-to-make crowd-pleaser. All are great to have on hand for guests, tea, or a midnight nibble. I hope you enjoy it devour it!
Onward.
