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Blueberries Make The Cake

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A simple single layer cake with lots of blueberries.

It’s July, so if you’re on Instagram, you may be noticing that everyone’s feed is filled with blueberries.

Whether you picked them yourself, found them at a farmers market, or bought them at the grocery store, ’tis the season.

My favorite cakes during the summer are simple single layer cakes. They aren’t too sweet. They travel well. Plus, since they aren’t frosted, they hold up in the heat.

One of the recipes that I use as a base is a Norwegian Apple Cake. I’ve been using this recipe for years, with a few changes. One of the easiest ways to adapt it is by changing the type of fruit.

I made the cake a few weeks ago using cherries. Everyone loved it, so this past week I used blueberries. Lots of blueberries!

I used two cups and the cake was bursting with blueberry flavor. Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a try.

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Summer Blueberry Cake
(makes one single layer cake)

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries (washed, stems removed)

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a medium bowl, combine butter, sugar and eggs. Stir in salt, extracts, baking powder and flour until well combined.

I use a regular size round cake pan, but a square or loaf pan would probably work fine too. I used to grease and flour the pan, but now I use parchment paper. So whatever way you prefer is fine.

Pour batter into a pan. Pour the blueberries over the batter and press into the cake.

The original recipe says to bake for about 25 – 30 minutes at 400 degrees. I’ve baked this cake a few times and am still adjusting the time and temperature. Blueberries are more wet than apples, so more baking time was definitely needed. The last time I baked this cake (July 13, 2019) for about an hour at 350 degrees. That seemed to work well. Everyone loved the cake and raved about the texture.

After the cake is done, I put it in the fridge and let it cool down. If you are taking it to go, maybe for a picnic, wrap it in foil,  pack it and be on your way!

Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Pear Crisp: Breakfast For Grown-ups

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Pear CrispBreakfast or dessert? I’ve asked this question before. Since I’m a grown-up, I’ve decided that it’s breakfast.

When I was a kid, I remember looking forward to being one of the grown-ups and being able to make my own decisions about things just like this. Because in the greater scheme of life, shouldn’t I be able to eat what I want for breakfast? Now is certainly the time to reap the benefits.

Last Sunday, I salvaged some subpar pears by baking with them. The inspiration for the crisp came from the apple crisp recipe shared by Amy Traverso. I made several changes, but her recipe served as a nice framework.

I cut the ingredient amounts in half, so it worked for the amount of pears that I had. I left the skins mostly on, but removed some of it because of brown spots. I changed the sugar to half brown and for the other half decided to finally use this coconut sugar that I bought about a while ago. I was a bit concerned that it might taste like coconut, but I didn’t notice it.

I used regular salt instead of kosher. Instead of all cinnamon, I used some cardamom too. For the flour, I keep a mixture of all-purpose and wheat in a container that I use for everything. It’s not measured, but it’s mostly all-purpose.

The crisp was really good and G loved it. He said, “That’s what grown-ups eat!” I happen to agree.

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Pear Crisp
(4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups pears (cut up)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter (melted)
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. cardamom

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the pears in an ungreased baking dish, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugars. Combine ingredients, then stir in egg. It will be crumbly. Spread the mixture over the pears. Drizzle the melted butter over the top. Then sprinkle the cinnamon and cardamom.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. You should probably let it sit and cool for a few minutes before cutting it. But we were hungry and watching CBS Sunday Morning as we were waiting for the crisp to finish baking.

Once it was done, I took a few quick pictures and we ate it. Because sometimes grown-ups are as impatient as kids!

Happy November to you!