Blueberry Cake!

 

I'm a sucker for books that name a type of food in their title because it usually means there's a recipe at the back. When Owen and I found Blueberry Cake by Sarah Dillard at the library last week, we came home and read it five times in a row. The story was mostly told through pictures which matched Owen's two-year-old sensibilities, and yes! There was a recipe listed at the end. Owen then began to shout "Blueberry cake!" throughout each day until I finally got some fresh berries and made the cake yesterday.

Oh boy, this cake was something special (yes, it is already gone). I've been in a snack cake phase lately, and this one fit the bill--a cake perfect for munching on after school or while watching old Hayley Mills movies on a Sunday afternoon. The recipe calls for three cups of berries which means each slice of cake is crammed with gorgeous purple pockets of juice. The batter was simple and straightforward enough for my eight-year-old to take the lead. The sprinkle of nutmeg before baking and slather of butter before eating sent it over the top. AND it worked beautifully with the gluten-free flour I like. Wins all around. 

The kids and I ate big squares of warm cake with glasses of milk as we watched Pollyanna and, for a moment, everything hung in perfect balance. 

Cheers to simple cakes and lazy afternoons and books with recipes in them!

Blueberry Cake
(Adapted slightly from Blueberry Cake by Sarah Dillard)

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour with great results)
3 cups fresh blueberries
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x9 pan.

In a glass measuring cup, combine heavy cream, lemon juice, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add cream mixture, eggs, salt, and flour, and stir until combined. Fold in blueberries and spread batter into greased pan. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Bake for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes (or until done). 

Serve hot topped with butter.