baking

A few weeks go, my youngest woke up and said, “I had a dream that I made a blueberry cake, but I’m pretty sure that I did it wrong, because I put the frosting in the batter. How about we try to make that right today?” Well, it took awhile, because he didn’t mean a cake with blueberries in it–he meant a cake that was blue through-and-through, like how a chocolate cake is chocolate, not just dotted with chocolate chips. Makes sense for a kid who dyed every one of his Easter eggs blue until he was 8 years old.

Here is our final result! Like the Homemade Strawberry Cake from Sally’s Baking, it builds on a white cake recipe. Our secret is to stuff as much blueberry in it–compote, emulsion, and freeze dried–as the batter can handle.

Make this in three stages, with time for cooling in between: compote, cake, and frosting. Also make sure that your eggs, butter, sour cream, and milk are at room temperature for the cake itself and that the milk and cream cheese are at room temperature for the frosting, and leave time for the frosting to cool in the refrigerator before decorating the cake. I strongly recommend weighing your ingredients in this case.

Ingredients:

for the compote

• 1 lb of blueberries, frozen or fresh
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2-3 TBS lemon juice + zest of one lemon
• pinch of salt

for the cake

• 295g (2 1/2 c) cake flour, spooned rather than dumped onto your scale or into your measuring cup
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) softened butter
• 350g (1 3/4 c) sugar
• 5 room temperature egg whites, yolks reserved for another use
• 1/3 c full-fat blueberry Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs blueberry emulsion (which we had to order online)
• 2 drops red food coloring
• 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 c. blueberry compote

for the frosting

• 1 brick of full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick of butter
• 30 grams (a little over 1 cup) of freeze dried blueberries
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbs whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp clear vanilla

Make the compote (20 mins, plus cooling time)

Actually, to make clean up easier, start the whole process by whizzing 30 grams of freeze dried blueberries in your blender to create a powder that will cover and flavor your frosting. Ensure that no chunks remain. Set aside. (Doing this first means you don’t have the wash the blender twice to make this cake.)

Combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and pinch of salt in small saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, as it reduces to about 1 cup. Remove from heat and allow to cool until you can safely transfer to a blender. Blend until a think blend; some chunks can remain. Cool to room temperature. (If you prepare the day before you bake the cake, refrigerate, then bring to room temperature.)

Make the cake (20 mins prep; 40 mins bake; plus cooling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a round cake pan with cooking spray; line with parchment paper and spray the paper, too. Set aside.

Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Or do what I do and place inside a mixing bowl with a lid and shake vigorously–a fun job for a kid!

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter by mixing with a paddle attachment on medium-high for about 3 minutes, pausing to scrape down sides as needed. Add egg whites, beating on high for 2 minutes. Add yogurt or sour cream, vanilla, blueberry emulsion, and food coloring and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Stir in dry ingredients. With mixer on low, slowly add milk until just combined. Finally, fold in 1 cup of blueberry compote. (If you have leftover, enjoy on stuffed French toast or baked oatmeal; if you are short.) Mix with a light touch only until no streaks of white are left.

Pour into prepared pans and bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I use a 9 inch round pan and it takes about 35 minutes, but my oven is a slow-poke, so check your sooner.

Cool on a baking rack for an hour, then loosen from the pan with a butter knife or offset spatula.

At this point, begin to make the frosting if you’d like to frost the cake today as the frosting requires an hour of refrigeration before being applied–and then will require another hour to set.

Remove from the pan, peel away parchment paper, and continue cooling until the cake is entirely cool.

Make the frosting and assemble, then chill, the cake (1 hour, 40 minutes total time)

Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium high until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the powdered blueberries, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt (or, again, add to a mixing bowl with a lid and shake vigorously). Add to butter and cream cheese, then add milk and vanilla. Beat on low for about 30 seconds, then slowly increase speed to high for three minutes or until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate for an hour.

To assemble the cake, divide in half horizontally with a cake leveling tool or large bread knife. Add about 1/3 of frosting to what will be the first layer and spread to edge. Top with second layer and frost the top and sides. Refrigerate about an hour.

At this point, the cake is ready to serve. If you refrigerate longer, bring to room temperature before serving.