last night, i was craving some fruit in cake. lillie first suggested strawberries, but we didn't have any. upon greater freezer excavation, we found a few bags of last summer's blueberries. joy.
now here's the thing: if you've never had plump, juicy, large michigan blueberries...well, you're just missing out on one of the best things in life. we have a great blueberry source by lake michigan, in saugatuck. in west michigan, the sandy soil and the fresh, moist air combine to make a perfect climate for growing fruit, especially blueberries. when we leave the driveway of the blueberry farm (krupka's, for those in the know), our hands and mouths are already stained blue. pure bliss.
every summer, we purchase a huge quantity of blueberries. the ladies at our local quilting/fabric store place their orders with us, too. we bring them back with us, to save them a trip (or two). last summer, we bought more than 250 pounds of blueberries. 80 pounds of that went into our home. i'd say 60 pounds got consumed immediately, and the rest was frozen for special treats throughout the winter.
and so last night, i perused a few cookbooks and adapted this cake, from the america's test kitchen cookbook.
lillie stood and sat by the oven door for most of the cooking time, playing with her silly putty and waiting for the timer to beep. she could not wait. she loves hot cake, warm cake, room temp cake, cold cake. the burst of hot blueberry in your mouth is, as the pigeon says, a taste sensation. most of the cake is now gone, less than 24 hours later. some to the neighbors. the rest as snack, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. you'll enjoy this recipe immensely, i believe.
blueberry lemon teacake
blueberry note: fresh blueberries are fine. if you have frozen berries, run them under water in a strainer until the water runs clear. pat dry with a paper towel, and toss with a tablespoon of flour before adding them to the batter.
3 c flour
1 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1.5 cups plain yogurt. if you run out of yogurt, put in some sour cream thinned with a little milk. yogurt is best, though.
2 eggs
grated zest of one lemon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 cups of blueberries
streusel:
equal parts flour, brown sugar, and softened butter. i used about 1/2 c of each for this particular cake. add a little cinnamon, if you'd like.
preheat oven to 375. grease a 9x13 cake pan.
mix the drys. in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, and lemon zest. gently fold the wets into the drys, until just mixed. it will be a very stiff batter. fold in melted butter. then fold in, gently again, the blueberries. stir 'til just combined. put into greased pan, top with streusel. bake for 30-50 min, or until your cake tester comes out clean. eat hot, warm, room temp, or cold. it is all equally delicious.
copyright 2006, jessica voigts
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Comments: 16
Good article and it makes me hungry but I'm on a diet so will suffer thru it.
And to Tom...you say you are on a diet and that you can't eat it. It's all about moderation. I lost 20 lbs last year and I've kept off all but 2lbs. You can eat 1 slice and give the rest to your co-workers.