Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake

One of the best parts about the summers here is the annual harvest of all types of delicious fruits and vegetables.  There are so many family-owned farms in the area that open up their fields and fruit trees to the public and welcome the picking of the fresh produce.  One of my favorite fruits to pick are blueberries.  There are several wonderful blueberry farms in our area that grow the biggest, juiciest berries I have ever seen.  They are so much more flavorful than anything you can find in the grocery stores.  I usually pick about 5-8 gallons worth of berries and then immediately bake up a bunch of blueberry-studded treats to share with friends and family before freezing any excess berries for use throughout the winter months.

I spied this cake several years ago in an issue of Fine Cooking Magazine and was immediately struck by how perfectly moist and light appearance of the crumb.  I normally do not like most pound cakes because of their dense, heavy, and sometimes dry nature.  However, this looked like the sort of cake that could change my mind.

The original recipe calls for the use of lime zest and juice.  However, I could not resist switching it to the classic combination of blueberry and lemon simply because I was craving a lemon sweet.  I'm sure the lime would be divine and I do plan on making that variation next time I bake this cake.

And there WILL be a next time.  This cake was so incredibly moist and fresh-tasting.  It was a treat to have on hand for brunch and I was so pleased to be able to share it with my siblings when they came to visit!  My sister Jane especially loved the cake, so I promised I would post this recipe in its entirety just for her.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake
adapted from Fine Cooking


For the Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking power
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries

For the Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray with flour.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips until fragrant.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar/zest mixture and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the egg yolk. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then beat the batter on medium speed for about 20 seconds, or until smooth and light. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Tap the pan against the counter to eliminate air pockets. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes then turn the cake out and set on the rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze: Place the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and whisk in the lemon juice, a few teaspoons at a time, until you have a thick, but pourable consistency for the glaze. Drizzle over the cake; let the glaze set before serving.

Blueberry Cornbread with Buttermilk Syrup

Oh, how we love summer!

The weather has finally been a bit cooler, allowing us to spend more time outside without being so uncomfortable from the heat and humidity.  Matthew's favorite place to be this summer has been the beach.  He absolutely loves sitting in the warm sand and watching the waves move back and forth across the shoreline.  Such a change from last summer when he was deathly afraid of water in any capacity.  Paul has been trying to teach him how to skip rocks.  The only thing Matthew registered from his lessons was that it is okay to throw things in the water.  I really have to keep an eye on him now because he has tried throwing my sunglasses, his shoes, our lunch, his gym shorts, etc. into the lake.  A seagull almost choked on the Oreo cookie he chucked into the lake last week.  I really would prefer not to get fined by the Wildlife Protection Agency.

Lately, Matthew has been trying to drive himself home.  This has made Paul very happy, especially since Matthew has been scaring him recently with some of his wardrobe choices.  Just the other day, we were at a shoe store and I was trying on a pair of new running shoes when I saw Matthew precariously walking towards me in a pair of silver peep-toed pumps with four-inch heels.  

Paul flipped out.  Majorly.

So, Matthew's fascination with cars and driving has been a bit of redemption from some of his less masculine fetishes.  

Last week marked the beginning of blueberry season.  Matthew and I headed out to the picking fields earlier in the week and came home with a couple gallons of huge, juicy, sweet berries.  I wish I could report that Matthew was such a help in this venture, but alas he probably ate more berries than he put in his bucket.  As I was finishing off filling my bucket, I heard Matthew, who was seated under a nearby blueberry bush, counting aloud the number of berries in his bucket:  "One...two...three...four...five...six!"

I took a glance inside to see that he was entirely correct.  There were exactly six blueberries that made it into his bucket after nearly two hours of picking.  He probably ate close to 500.

The first thing we made with our batch of berries was this blueberry cornbread.  One of my favorite pancakes are blueberry-cornmeal, so it only seemed fitting that blueberries would taste great in cornbread.  I just utilized my favorite cornbread recipe and folded a cup of blueberries into the batter.  Once the batter was scraped into the pan, a handful of blueberries were scattered over the top and the entire concoction baked up into a delicious, lightly sweet cake that is perfect for dessert or breakfast.

I ended up making "cornbread sundaes" for Paul and Mathew by taking a warm slice of the cornbread, topping it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzling some buttermilk syrup over the whole thing.  It was divine!  I'm including the recipe for the buttermilk syrup below because I absolutely insist that you try it!  We made a big batch to have on hand for pancakes, etc. but it really is quite delicious on ice cream and pairs marvelously with the flavor of the blueberries.  

Blueberry Cornbread

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

½ cup cornmeal

1 ½ cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oil

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cup buttermilk (but regular milk will work just fine if it's all you have!)

Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk together the oil, butter, eggs, and buttermilk.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.  With a spatula, stir until just mixed.  Gently fold in 1 cup of blueberries.  Scrape into a greased 8" square pan and scatter the remaining blueberries over the top. Bake in for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.  Let cool slightly on a wire rack.

Buttermilk Syrup

from Tasty Kitchen

½ cups Butter

1 cup Sugar

½ cups Buttermilk

1 Tablespoon Karo Syrup

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

In a LARGE pot, combine butter, sugar, buttermilk, and Karo syrup, and bring to a boil for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add baking soda and vanilla. Mixture will fizz to TWICE THE SIZE or more, so make sure you use a good-sized pot! Set it aside to thicken while stirring occasionally. 

Blueberry-Corn Salad with Feta

One of the things I look forward to most during the summertime is the endless supply of sweet corn that comes pouring in from local farms.  You can usually purchase five ears for a dollar and it tastes so much more fresh, crisp, and sweet than any type of frozen corn.  Since it is so readily available, we eat corn in some capacity with almost every single meal during the summers.  Spoon bread, cornbread, corn on the cob, corn salsa, corn quesadillas, and corn chowder are just a few of a ways we have utilized this delicious crop so far this year.

But my absolute favorite way to have fresh sweet corn is in a raw corn salad.  Have you ever tried corn raw?  It is so delicious sweet and refreshing and the perfect platform on which to build a delicious summer salad.  There are several recipes for corn salads floating around the web, but this is my personal favorite adaptation of several different recipes I have seen.  It may sound weird, but blueberries and corn go really well together!  REALLY well.  Throw in some cucumber, red onion, feta, jalapeno and cilantro and toss with a creamy honey-lime dressing, and you get one satisfyingly complex salad.

If the idea of eating raw corn freaks you out a bit, you can simply place the corn cobs in a pot of boiled water for about 3 minutes.  Just pat it dry and let it cool completely before cutting it off the stalk and continuing with the recipe.

I'm eating the leftovers for lunch today while sitting outside reading Jane Eyre and watching Matthew tease the little pekingese we are dog-sitting for the week (he likes to take her favorite toy, hold it just out of her reach and giggle as she repeatedly jumps up and down in a fruitless attempt to rip it from his grasp).  Sounds like a great way to spend the afternoon!

Blueberry-Corn Salad with Feta

heavily adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

3-4 ears fresh sweet corn, husked and cut from the cob

1 large cucumber, peeled and gelatinous seeds removed

1/2 medium red onion, finely diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1-2 cups blueberries

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons mayo

2 tablespoons plain yogurt (I like greek yogurt because it's less watery)

1 heaping tablespoon honey

1-2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cut the cucumber into 1/2 inch wide strips and then cube crosswise.  Toss together in a large bowl with the corn, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and blueberries.

Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing.  Pour over the corn mixture and toss gently to coat.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (but no more than 1 hour) to allow the flavors to jam together.  Sprinkle with feta shortly before serving.

To make ahead, you can refrigerate the veggies/blueberries and the dressing in separate containers and then just mix them together shortly before you're ready to serve.  

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

I know I've been posting a lot of baked oatmeal recipes, but we just love the stuff so much that I can't help but share some of the different variations we have been enjoying!  Matthew calls it "cake" because he loves it so much.  "Cake" is pretty much his word for anything delicious.  Sometimes, I find myself calling spaghetti or roast chicken "cake" just so I can get him to eat it.

Breakfast is pretty much the only meal of the day where we know Matthew will eat whatever is put in front of him.  He loves all kinds of breakfast foods.  Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, toast...you name it, he will greedily gobble it down.

And this blueberry baked oatmeal was no exception.  Loaded with fresh lemon zest and two pints of blueberries, this is a breakfast that will turn your teeth blue.  But it will be worth it because it is refreshing, filling, and satisfying.  Add a little more sugar and you could almost serve it for dessert!

Baked Blueberry-Lemon Oatmeal
adapted slightly from Babble

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 large lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 8x8 square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, salt, zest, and spice.  In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar, and egg.

Spoon half the oat mixture into the baking dish, then half the blueberries.  Add the remaining oat mixture and scatter the remaining blueberries on top, pressing them slightly.  Pour the milk mixture over the whole pan and place in the oven.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the mixture is light golden brown along the edges and the center has set up.  Serve warm with milk!