Blueberry Cake

My mom's recipe, from "The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals" 2001, contributed by Bonnie Heatwole of Springs, Pennsylvania. The original recipe uses 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 cup each of blueberries and nuts in the filling. 

I planted a blueberry bush in the backyard when we moved into our house, but it didn't survive the second hard winter and a spring flood. I didn't replant it.

I buy frozen wild blueberries, which need to be defrosted in a sieve placed over a bowl, and left to drain well.

Wild or home-grown blueberries tend to be smaller and more intense in flavor than the larger commercially grown blueberries, that might sink deeper into the cake batter. To avoid the berries all sinking to the bottom of the cake, alternate pouring the batter and filling, in 3 or more layers.

Makes 16 servings. 

Cake

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup softened salted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/4 cups white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. real vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind (zest)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Filling

• 2 Tbsp - 1/4 cup sugar (depending on amount and sweetness of berries)
• 1-2 cups blueberries
• 1-2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Topping

• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grease a 10" bundt or tube pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda. Combine and set aside.

Cream butter, 1-1/4 cups sugar, vanilla and grated lemon rind.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add sour cream. Mix well.

Gradually beat in dry ingredients.

To prepare filling, gently mix sugar and blueberries, don't crush the fruit.

Prepare topping, mixing sugar and cinnamon.

Turn about 1/3 of cake batter into greased pan.

Add 1/3 of filling, sprinkling in 1/3 cup of nuts each time, if using.

Continue alternating layers of filling and cake batter.

Sprinkle on topping to finish.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 50 minutes or so.

Cake is done when toothpick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven, let cool in pan.

Cover with clean cloth.

Remove from pan onto serving dish to slice when cake is completely cool.

Cake will keep in fridge 2-4 days. Portions can be frozen.

Tea Time at Mansfield Park or your own Country Estate

After watching the DVD of Becoming Jane, I re-read Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Austen doesn't waste words on food. One of her rare and brief menu descriptions concerns the left-overs on two breakfast plates.

One gentleman had eaten eggs, the other pork with mustard.

Fanny Price, the heroine, remarks on food only when it's lacking or poorly presented. She visits her relatively poor family in Portsmouth, and is served greasy bread on half-clean dishes.

Austen did not approve of gluttony. A minor character in the novel becomes apoplectic and dies after imbibing three large dinners in one week.

You must, however, try this lovely cake. Made with six fresh eggs, whole milk, unsalted creamery butter and freshly hulled walnuts, it is quite good enough for tea time at an English country estate like Mansfield Park, or your own.

Traditional English Walnut Cake

The cake will serve thirty. But after horseback riding or a vigorous walk in the fresh air, your guests will be sure to want more than a thin slice, so do not count on it serving more than ten.

• 1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 6 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup whole (homogenized) milk
• 1/4 cup fine brandy
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups freshly shelled, coarsely chopped English walnuts (or other chopped walnuts)
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Separate egg yolks from whites when cold, placing whites in a glass or ceramic dish (not plastic).

Lightly beat egg yolks.

Let separated eggs stand in their bowls on the counter to reach room temperature. 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Grease a 10" non-stick bundt (tube) pan, with shortening, then flour.

Cream softened butter.

Add sugar gradually, beat smooth until mixture is fluffy and lightens in colour.

Mix beaten egg yolks, milk, brandy and vanilla.
Set aside.

Sift together flour and salt.
Alternate adding flour mixture and egg mixture to creamed butter and sugar till all is combined.
Stir in nuts.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites till foamy.

Add cream of tartar, beat further till whites form stiff peaks.
Gently but thoroughly fold whites into cake batter.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.

Bake at 275 degrees F for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until cake is done when tested.

Hummingbird Cake

Pineapple Parakeet Hummingbird Cake

Sharing a cake into which pineapple has been baked brings good fortune and creates a bond among those who share it.

When my Lauren was little, she used to like to go to her grandma's and help Nama bake. She liked to wear the pink apron that had been made by Nama's granny.

Lauren was horrified when Nama said they were making Hummingbird Cake. Nama explained that hummingbird wasn't actually an ingredient, they'd be using mashed bananas and pineapple.  Lauren replied that if the cake was only named after a bird, a better name would be Parakeet Cake, since her yellow pet budgie's name was Pineapple.

Nama's recipe uses a Bundt pan and is good as it is. Other versions of Hummingbird cake are drizzled with an icing, this one is not. My mom never really liked the icing on a cake. She wouldn't make the extravagant cream cheese frosted layer cake version that follows, but try it for a special occasion, like a tea party in celebration of your parakeet's birthday.

• 3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 c. white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil OR 1/2 cup milk and 1 c. vegetable oil
• 2 cups peeled & mashed ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts OR pecans
• 3 large eggs
• 1 8 oz. can well-drained, crushed pineapple

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan or 2 loaf pans.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the vanilla, oil, bananas and beaten eggs with a large wooden spoon. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet ingredients. Mix. 
5. Add the drained, crushed pineapple and walnuts. Mix.
6. Turn batter into a prepared pan(s).
7. Bake at 300 degrees in Bundt/Tube pan for 1-1/2 hours or in 2 loaf pans for 1 hour.
8. Cake is baked when it pulls away from sides of pan and top is cracked slightly.
9. Remove from oven and let cool in pan(s) at least 1 hr. before slicing.

Hummingbird Layer Cake

This cake is also known as Doctor Bird Cake because it's named after Jamaica's national bird, the hummingbird. The Jamaica Tourist Board printed the recipe in a press kit as a tourist promotion in 1968 and was Southern Living magazine's most requested recipe after they printed it. Bakery owner Cheryl Day included it in her Treasury of Southern Baking.

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 5 large)
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple OR 1 8-ounce (227 g) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1/4 cup whole milk + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (milk soak)
• 1 recipe cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter two 9x2 inch round cake pans, line bottom with parchment paper and butter it as well. Lightly dust pans with flour, tapping pans on counter to shake out excess.
3. In a large mixing bowl sift together: 3 cups flour and 1 tsp each: baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Set aside.
4. In stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment (or with hand mixer) beat 2 cups sugar + 1-1/4 cups oil till smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Beat 2 more minutes until egg mixture is light and fluffy.
7. Mix in just until incorporated: 2 tsp vanilla, 2 cups mashed bananas, pineapple.
8. On low speed, add the flour mixture in thirds, stopping to scrape down the sides, beating just until combined. Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir to make sure flour is incorporated at the bottom of the bowl.
9. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
10. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Smooth tops of batter with a spatula. Tap pans firmly on countertop to remove air bubbles from the batter.
11. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 30-40  minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cake layer comes out clean.
12. Cool cake in pans on a wire rack 20 minutes.
13. Invert cake onto another rack, peel off parchment paper, turn right side up, and let cake layers cool completely on racks.
14. Make cream cheese frosting then assemble cake (see below).

Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days but bring to room temperature before using to frost a cake.

• 5/8 cup (142 g or 1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• Two 8 oz (227 g) packages cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5-6 cups (625-750 g) icing (confectioner's) sugar

1. While cold, measure and cut the butter, cut into chunks, leave on plate or parchment paper on counter to come to room temperature.
2. Cut cold cream cheese into chunks and set on counter to come to room temperature.
3. Using the paddle attachment of stand mixer (or hand mixer) beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt on medium speed until smooth and creamy (3-5 minutes.)
4. Gradually add 5 cups icing sugar, beating until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Continue to beat, (add up to 1 cup more sugar if needed, if frosting seems thin) until frosting is light and fluffy 4-6 minutes.

Cake Assembly:

1. Level the top of 1 layer with a sharp serrated knife or cake leveller, so that it is flat. Place it cut side up on a serving plate.
2. Slide strips of parchment paper under the cake to keep the plate clean while you frost it.
3. Brush the top of the layer with milk soak (1/4 cup milk + 1 tsp vanilla mixed well).
4. Using a straight spatula or butter knife, spread the layer with a large dollop of frosting.
5. Place second cake layer on top, right side u p, and frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting.
6. Decorate sides of the cake with 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
7. Store cake covered in the fridge up to 3 days but bring to room temperature before serving.