Butter and blueberries: a sign of spring?
April 25, 2011 § 2 Comments
I saw this on Smitten Kitchen a while back and decided that I had to try it for the name alone. Plus, the sun finally came out this weekend, blessing us with 60 degree weather, and I thought a blueberry dessert would be perfect. And since my parents came to visit this weekend, they were able to bring some home for my sisters, meaning I wouldn’t end up eating the entire pan by myself (though I would have no difficulty in doing so, trust me).
Folding blueberries into the batter
Cooling in the pan
I was surprised by the lightness of the cake. For some reason, I imagined it would be a really heavy, dense dessert but this would be a perfect, crumbly, buttery accompaniment with Earl Grey tea for an indulgent afternoon snack, which is exactly what I’m having as I type this in the law school carrels.
Perfect with Earl Grey
Blueberry Boy Bait (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Serves 16, generously
For the cake:
2 cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (Don’t defrost if they’re frozen, otherwise they’ll get mushy)
For the topping:
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (don’t defrost)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the cake:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated and scrape down the sides. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then add half of the buttermilk. Then beat in the remaining half of the flour mixture and the remaining half of the buttermilk. Toss the blueberries in the leftover tablespoon of flour until they are fully coated and then fold gently into the batter with a rubber spatula. Spread batter into the baking pan.
For the topping:
Scatter the blueberries on top of the batter. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool in pan for another 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes on Food 
Yum this looks delicious 🙂 I remember seeing the cake on Smitten Kitchen, and agree that hers seems much denser, like a pound cake.
But yours is my perfect kind of cake, soft, spongy and light.
I saw that you’re in HK! I was there two summers ago and absolutely loved it, ate my way through the city. Let me know if you’d like any restaurants recs!