Blueberry Upside Down Cake

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Several years ago while searching for a blueberry dessert, I found this recipe for blueberry upside down cake. It comes from Thibeault's Table, a wonderful blog from Canada with lots of great recipes. Ann, the blogs author, and her husband also make and sell gorgeous hardwood cutting boards. They are truly one of a kind works of art and I really want one!
Anyway, the first time I made this cake I fell in love with it. Since then it's become one of my favorite go-to recipes for a quick, but really delicious fruit dessert. I've made it so many times over the years that I was positive that I had already shared it here. After looking through my archive it appears that I some how overlooked posting about this wonderful little cake. Well let me just fix that right now!

This cake is so amazing served warm, right out of the oven, especially with a little vanilla ice cream. However, as great as that is, I love it equally as much the next day with a cup of hot coffee. For me adding the cinnamon to the cake, gives it more of a coffee cake flavor. If you leave the cinnamon out it's more a vanilla cake. Either way you can't go wrong, but with the cinnamon, this cake and cup of coffee are a match made in heaven!

Blueberry Upside Down Cake
Source: Thibeault's Table (slightly adapted)
PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
3/4 cup buttermilk

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees  Combine melted butter and brown sugar. Spread evenly on bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan with at least 2 inch sides. Spread blueberries evenly over the brown sugar mixture and drizzle the lemon juice over the berries.
With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beat in egg, almond extract, and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon (if using). Mix in one third of the dry ingredients. Add in half the milk. Mix in another third of the dry ingredients, when just mixed, add in the rest of the milk. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mix until just incorporated. Spread batter evenly over blueberry layer. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cake cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert on to large flat plate or cake plate.

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Blueberry Lime Pound Cake

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 I have a confession to make. I have a slight problem with hoarding. Well that's a bit of an exaggeration, I only hoard one thing, old cooking magazines. I keep a few Bon Appetit's and a Martha Stewart Living, here and there, but mostly it's limited to Fine Cooking magazines. For some reason, I can't stand to throw them away. I love every issue. They only publish a new magazine every other month, which is probably a good thing because with only six issues a year, it would take a long time for me to make it on to "Hoarders: Buried Alive!"
Actually, recently in a fit of spring cleaning, I did part with quite a few issues. I kept only the ones that with lots of recipes I want to make, or had really pretty pictures... Yes I know I can look up old recipes online, but it's way more fun to grab a cold drink and flip through a stack of magazines. Thank goodness I still had my Jun/July 2008 issue, because it was chock full of great blueberry recipes.  I remembered there were several recipes in that issue that I wanted to make. I had dogeared the page to this recipe a long time ago and I decided now was the time to put that hoarded issue to good use! 

Blueberry Lime Pound Cake
Source: Fine Cooking: by Nicole Rees (adapted)
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking power
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. finely grated lime zest
*6 oz. mascarpone or cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 pint blueberries, room temperature, not cold from the refrigerator 
For the glaze:
4 oz. (1 cup) confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice; more as needed
1/2 tsp. lime zest

*Note: I used mascarpone because I had it and didn't have any cream cheese on hand. It was delicious in this cake!

Method:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.
Make the cake: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Stir the lime zest into the sifted flour mixture.
With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the butter and mascarpone or cream cheese in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar mixture and beat on medium until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. With the mixer still running, add the whole eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and stopping the mixer to scrape the bowl twice. Beat in the egg yolk. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture. Stop the mixer one last time to scrape the bowl and then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth and light, about 20 seconds. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Pour the batter into the bundt pan, spreading it evenly with the spatula. Lightly tap the pan against the counter to eliminate any air pockets. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes and then invert onto the rack, remove the pan, and let cool completely.

Glaze the cake: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, lime zest, and lime juice together until smooth. The glaze should be thin enough to pour. If not, add more lime juice, 1 tsp. at a time. Put a baking sheet under the rack to catch drips and drizzle the glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Let the glaze set before transferring to a cake plate.

Or you can add the glaze right on the cake plate, like I did!

Other blueberry recipes you might like:
Low Fat Blueberry Oat Loaf Cake
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Orange Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry Ice Cream
Blueberry Barbecue Sauce

Low Fat Blueberry Oat Loaf Cake

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I've written several posts about my love affair with oatmeal and my continuing efforts to get more oats in my diet. So of course when I came across this recipe, I immediately bookmarked it. Not only does this cake have oatmeal in it but blueberries, yogurt, and cinnamon too. Because the cake contains no oil or butter, it's a fairly low fat dessert. That makes it health food, right?? Great for Heart Health month!

Low Fat Blueberry Oat Loaf Cake
Source: Diana Rattray, About.com Guide (slightly adapted)
printable recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
cinnamon sugar for topping

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
Combine the blueberries with flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
In another bowl, whisk yogurt with lemon juice; whisk in the milk and eggs. Pour yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Spoon into the prepared pan; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture (about 3 teaspoons sugar to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.). Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The oats give the cake a dense but very moist texture, more like the texture of muffin or quick bread than a cake, but very tasty. The recipe is quick and easy to prepare and so versatile as well. Throw in some chopped nuts and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.  Shredded coconut would be delicious too. Use your imagination!

Celebrate your 4th with an All-American Blueberry Pie

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If strawberries are a bite of Spring, than for me the blueberry is the fruit that signifies summer. Juicy and sweet, with just a hint of tartness, makes the blueberry perfect in all kinds of baked goods. I mentioned in an earlier post that I manager a local farmers market. Blueberries are at their peak right now at our market, just in time for the 4th of July.  Although other countries are beginning to grow them, blueberries are indigenous to, and primarily grown in, North America. Perhaps instead of the apple pie, blueberry pie should be considered the all-American pie! Head down to your local farmers market this week, pick up some fresh blueberries and celebrate all things American with a slice of blueberry pie.

I don't add a lot of extras to my blueberry pie. My pie has only a couple of ingredients. I think in the case of blueberry pie less really is more. Lemon is the perfect companion to the blueberry. It adds just a bit of tartness that really brightens up the blueberries and cuts the sweetness just a bit.

Fresh Blueberry Pie
(Printable Recipe)

For Crust
One unbaked pie crust in 9" pie pan
One disk pie dough, for top of pie, (your favorite recipe.)
I used Dori Greenspan's recipe Good for All-Most Everything Pie Dough for my crust. If you don't want to make your own pie crust you can use prepared pie dough found in the refrigerator section of you local grocery store. It won't be as amazing as a homemade dough but you'll still get a great pie!

Filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup  granulated white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Egg Wash:

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon cream
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream. 

Make the Blueberry Filling:  In a small bowl mix together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest.  Place the blueberries in a large bowl.  Add the sugar mixture to the blueberries and gently toss to combine.  Pour the mixture into prepared pie shell. I used cut out stars to top my pie with but you can do a lattice pattern if you prefer. Place the cut out pastry stars in a circular pattern on top of the blueberries, making sure to cover most of the top of the pie. Once the top of the pie is covered with the pastry stars, brush the entire surface with the egg wash. Place the assembled pie back in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.   

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the chilled pie on a larger baking pan, lined with parchment paper or foil, to catch any spills.  Bake the pie for about 20 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Continue to bake the pie for about 35 - 45 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown color and the juices are bubbling and thick.  If the edges of the pie are browning too much during baking, cover with a foil ring. 

Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool for several hours. If you cut your pie before it cools completely it will not set-up and will be very soupy. Serve at room temperature with softly whipped cream or ice cream.  

The Whatever Muffin

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  A while ago I bought some rice flour for a recipe (that I have yet to make BUT plan to soon!!). It's been hanging out in my pantry for a while now. I've pulled out a couple of time and thought I'd try baking with it but just haven't had a good idea of what to I wanted to make. So back in the cupboard it would go. I had a meeting yesterday with a friend that is sensitive to wheat so I pulled out the rice flour and decided to make her some muffins. I used Bob's Red Mill rice flour (I love their products) and had noticed a muffin recipe on the side of the package. I used that recipe as a guide but these muffins are simple to adapt to "whatever" you want. You can sub any liquid for the milk, soy milk, juice, water, whatever! Add nuts if you like or leave them out. Any kind of fruit will work, fresh, frozen, or dried. I like having options!!  I added a cinnamon sugar topping to mine because I love cinnamon and blueberries. You can't have a blueberry muffin without a cinnamon sugar topping! Well you can, but I'll take mine with the cinnamon please.

The Whatever Muffin (printable recipe)

Adapted from Bob Red Mill 
yield: 6 muffins

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk (or liquid of choice, even just water)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup white rice flour (brown rice flour can be substituted)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped nuts - whatever type you want (optional)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit-any kind (I used frozen blueberries that I tossed in a little bit of the rice flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins)

Optional topping:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon



Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 6 muffin cups with  paper liners or coat the cups with canola cooking spray, or use a silicon muffin pan. In large bowl, combine egg, milk or  liquid of  your choice, sugar, and canola oil, mix until smooth. Add the rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just until combined. Stir in nuts (if desired) and fruit of choice. If using; mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Divide batter among the prepared 6 muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the cinnamon and sugar mixture and bake for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of largest muffin comes out reasonably clean.

I was really pleased with the resulting muffins. They were light and very tasty and I wouldn't have even known that they were wheat-free. They are so simple to make, one bowl, and easily adapted, I foresee many muffins in my future!

Orange Blueberry Muffins...

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...just the thing to break that post holiday baking slump.

Is it just me or does anyone else get the post holiday baking slump? I know everyone vows to lose weight after the holiday's, but I even lose the desire to bake. After baking (and eating) all that rich holiday food, nothing much appeals to me in those weeks following Christmas. That may not be all bad considering how tight my pants felt after the holidays!
However when I came across this recipe for orange muffins I found myself pulling out the flour, sugar, butter...etc. Citrus and fruit, now that's just the combo that will get me back in the kitchen. These muffins are delicious! They are moist and slightly cake like, but without being heavy. The fresh orange juice and zest gives them a wonderful punch of citrus. Throw in any berries or cranberries you have on hand and you might find yourself getting back in the baking groove!

Orange Blueberry Muffins
source: Rebecca Rather The Pastry Queen

1 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 orange
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries tossed in a bit of flour

Orange Glaze

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8 Texas-size (3 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep) muffin cups with butter or cooking spray. (*see note below) Whisk together the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs, and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until the flour is incorporated. Gently fold the orange zest and blueberries into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup just to the top. Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and glaze.

To make the glaze: combine all three ingredients in a medium bowl. Spread the mixture on top of each muffin. Serve warm or at room temp. (there amazing warm!)

Notes: Instead of making "Texas" size muffins, I made mine in a regular size muffin pan. I baked them about 16 minutes. Test them with a toothpick at 15 minutes.

Onion Tarts and the OSS

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I have been a long time fan/admirer of the late great Julia Childs. She's an icon here in the U.S. for making french cooking accessible to anyone willing to learn. Julia Child's spent the greater part of her life teaching others to cook, through both her cookbooks and her TV series.
When I was growing up, my mom would get out Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbooks, and read them like they were novels. Of course unlike a novel, when mom pulled out those books we got a pretty amazing meal! Still to this day those tattered books are my mother's go to cookbooks. Almost every time I ask my mom a cooking question, I get a response that starts, "Well Julia says to..." So I guess Julia is responsible for helping me to learn cook as well.
This week we found out that Julia was not only a master chef, but a spy for the OSS as well! Wow she was one amazing woman.

While my husband and I were living in Germany, I fell in love with the onion tarts we had there. We visited the Alsatian region of France several times and Julia Childs recipe for Alsatian Onion Tarts are just like the ones I loved. Now that I know she was a spy, I can't help but wonder if Julia ate these tarts while working on missions for the OSS.

Alsatian Onion Tart

Baking with Julia

1 sheet puff pastry
4 lg onions, diced
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp cream
1/4 pound slab bacon (I used sliced bacon)
salt and pepper, to taste



Roll out puff pastry until it is 1/8-inch thick and cut into a 10 to 12-inch circle.
If you want to make indivdual tartlettes, use a 2" round cutter and cut out rolled out pastry.
Place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to several hours.
In a medium saucepan, combine onions and chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil. reduce heat and cook until onions are very tender - about 25-30 minutes. Drain onions and let cool.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Toss onions in cream and a bit of salt and pepper. Spread onions on rolled pastry all the way to the edge. Top with the bacon pressing the pieces down a bit so they flavor the onions. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes for the 10 inch tarts and about 20 min. for the 2 inch tartlettes, until light gold.
Serve immediately.

I had some puff pasrty leftover so I did what Julia suggested andnput a few blueberries on top of the pasrty and baked it until golden brown. Then brushed the tops with apricot jam that I heated and thinned with a little bit of water. A tasty way to use up those pasrty scrapes.

Blueberry Ice Cream

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This is the blueberry ice cream we had at our last farm dinner. I used blueberries from our farm. They are small but very flavorful. This makes a very creamy ice cream. A full fat yogurt can be substituted for the half and half to make an equally delicious frozen yogurt.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries (See Note)

3/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup half and half

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp vodka (optional)

Directions:
In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the fresh blueberries, water and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes to steep.

Transfer the blueberry mixture to a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vodka. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Add the cream and lemon juice to the blueberry puree and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

Note: If using frozen blueberries, make the sugar syrup by combining the water and sugar in a saucepan, bringing the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and cooking it until clear, about 1 minute. Put the frozen blueberries in a heatproof bowl and pour the syrup over them. Let cool and then transfer to the food processor. Proceed with the recipe.

Ribs with Blueberry Bar-B-Que Sauce

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With Hubs back home for the next couple of weeks, meat is definitely back on the menu here. Not that it was ever really off. I just don't seem to cook much meat when it's just me. So my semi-veg existence is over for the next couple of weeks. Hubs is not a fan of fruit with meat. He'll eat most anything but has always protested when I wanted to make any fruit/meat combos. Pork and a sauteed apples for example, one of my favorites. Too sweet to mix with meat was always the complaint I got from him. So when I decided to make pork ribs, which I know are a favorite, with blueberry bar-b-que sauce, I knew there would be grumbling. I had made this while he was gone for some friends and everyone raved. I knew if I could get him to forget that it's fruit and therefore sweet, he'd really like the sauce. I had some jarred BBQ sauce on stand by, just in case. As I began preparing dinner Hubs strolled in the kitchen. "What are you making" he asked. "I know you don't like the fruit/meat thing but I'm making blueberry BBQ sauce." I answered. Then I got "the face". A mixture of yuck and disappointment. "It's really good." I quickly answered "If you don't want it I've got other bar-b-que sauce right here." He was not happy about it but said he'd give it a try. He stuck a spoon in the bowl and tasted it, halfheartedly. "Wow this stuff is really good, and you know I don't like fruit with meat." I did it! I'd finally found a fruit/ meat combo that Hubs actually enjoys. He did add extra hot sauce to his but still I was thrilled he like it at all. By the end of the meal he was suggesting that I use it with other meats, like chicken. So now I have a least one fruit sauce that's acceptible, who knows this may be the start of something:)
Blueberry Barbecue Sauce
Makes about 1 1/2 CUPS
Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeño chile, seeded
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste (I used Cholula hot sauce)
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Heat the oil in a nonreactive saucepan. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, mustard and hot sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the blueberries and simmer over low heat, stirring until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Puree the sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pass through a strainer and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temp.
I froze the first batch leftovers and they were great when I them later.