Happy end of July friends! WOW! I can’t believe it is almost August! July is one of my favorite months. Most importantly, it’s the month we celebrate Carrie’s birthday (she just turned 8)! It’s usually the month when summer feels like summer. Flowers are everywhere, pools are full of adults and kids splashing, local veggies are delicious and evenings are full of fireflies, games and s’mores. This summer has been a little cooler than I hoped but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying most of the things summer has to offer.
Remember the farm we stumbled upon to pick strawberries? I never stopped thinking about what the farmer said about the blueberry picking in July. As a matter of fact, I started calling the last week of June to check the readiness of the berries. I know…
My mother-in-law came for a visit and I thought it would be fun to take her blueberry picking. She and my father-in-law have a beautiful cabin in Minnesota where they pick wild blueberries every July. As a matter of fact, there is a Blueberry Fest held each year in nearby Ely, MN.
I couldn’t wait to get to the farm! The blueberry bushes did not disappoint and before we knew it, we had tons of blueberries! Carrie was just as excited to pick blueberries as she was strawberries (maybe a little more since Granny was there) and we had a great afternoon!
We ate lots of them while we picked and all I could think about was making one of our family favorites, Blueberry Cake. The recipe is from The Chopping Block located in Chicago. My sister-in-law took me for a cooking class just before my wedding in 2004. It was there I first had this cake and it has been a staple in my recipe book ever since! I’ve made this many times and it always turns out perfectly. This time I used only blueberries but have prepared it with both blueberries and fresh peaches, a super yummy combo! Add fresh peaches to anything and I’m there! Here’s how to make this simple, not too sweet, delightful little cake. I’m including the recipe at the end so please let me know if you try it and how you like it.
It all starts with dry ingredients: flour, dark brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and salt; cut in butter.
Next, you divide the mixture and add the following to about 2/3 of the mixture: baking soda, buttermilk, egg
Then you simply place half of the wet mixture in a baking pan or pie dish and sprinkle the berries on top
Top the berry layer with the remaining wet batter then sprinkle the remaining dry crumbs on top and bake…EASY!
I have served this cake many times with cinnamon ice cream along side. I know, right? I didn’t have any on hand so I made fresh whipped cream and added cinnamon. Oh, the sacrifices I make. Ummmmmm, y’all know about my love affair with whipped cream! The cinnamon made it extra special and, well, you have to try it! This cake is a scrumptious dessert and would be out of this world spectacular served for breakfast or brunch. After all, it’s loaded with healthy, antioxidant rich blueberries. It would be a tasty treat on a picnic. The possibilities are endless. It’s not fancy and that’s what makes it so delicious! Bake this cake…you won’t be sorry!
From the heart, Shannon
Here’s the complete recipe:
Blueberry Cake
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups blueberries (more if you wish-fresh, frozen, store bought; also, you can add peaches, raspberries, any berry)
Preheat oven to 325; butter and flour or spray a pan or pie dish (8-9” wide)
Stir together the flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt and cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until crumbly. Set aside about 1/3 of these crumbs in a separate bowl. Add the baking soda, buttermilk and egg to the other crumbs and combine well. Place half of this batter into your baking dish. Sprinkle the berries on top of the batter then top with the rest of the batter and top with the reserved dry crumbs.
Bake until firm and golden, about 35-45 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream.
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