Blueberry, lemon bring this cake to the next level
Light, moist, tender, with a lovely play between sweet berries and the tartness of lemon, this cake will bring springtime to your Easter celebration, even if it’s snowing outside.
Serve it at brunch or as dinner’s last course — it’ll elevate any meal. Taste and texture aren’t its only assets; it can be made a day ahead and travels with ease.
To ensure its success, bring your butter, egg and sour cream to room temperature, beat the butter and sugar until light, and measure your flour by the spoon and level method. Once you add the flour to the batter, gently stir only until it’s incorporated, or you’ll end up with a tough cake.
Your pan should be 8 inches in diameter. My springform pans run small, so I had to use a pan that claims on the pan bottom to be 8½ inches wide but actually measures 8 inches. Check yours before baking; to determine its true size, measure the distance across the pan’s top from inside rim to inside rim.
BLUEBERRY ALL-DAY CAKE WITH LEMON STREUSEL
Total time: 2 hours Adjusted for altitudes of 7,000 feet and above. Make in an 8-inch
shiny metal springform pan. For the streusel:
¼ cup superfine granulated sugar, preferably Baker’s ½ cup bleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level Pinch salt
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2-3 drops lemon oil or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
For the cake:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level
¼ teaspoon baking powder Scant ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup superfine sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
½ cup sour cream, room temperature
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon lemon oil or 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
1 cup blueberries, washed, stemmed and dried
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center position. Unlock your springform pan, flip the bottom over so the lip faces down and relock it in place (this will make cutting and removing the baked cake easier). Grease the pan with a baking spray that contains flour.
Make the streusel: To make with a food processor, place the sugar, flour, salt and zest in the bowl and pulse to combine. Cut the butter into 12 pieces, add them, and pulse until mealy, with some larger chunks visible. Add the lemon oil (if using) and pulse just until distributed. Set the mixture aside.
To make by hand instead, whisk the sugar, flour and salt to combine. Stir/toss in the lemon zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and, with your hands or a pastry blender, work it in until the mixture is mealy, with some larger chunks. Sprinkle in the lemon oil, if using, and toss mixture to distribute it. Set the mixture aside.
Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine well and set aside. Cut up the butter and use an electric mixer to beat it, with the sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again until blended. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon oil/juice (if using), and beat at low-medium speed until combined.
Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the flour mixture and, at the lowest speed or by hand, stir only until blended (don’t overbeat). Gently fold twothirds of the blueberries into the thick batter until evenly distributed. Check the bottom of the bowl for any dry ingredients and stir them in.
Bake: Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing and leveling it. Scatter the remaining blueberries over the top and lightly press them into the batter. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the entire top, pinching some of it into larger clumps.
Bake until the top colors slightly, the edges are darker and start to pull away from the pan sides, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 32-37 minutes.
Cool and serve: Remove to a rack to cool, after about 30 minutes, run a knife or small off-set spatula around the sides, pressing towards the pan, not the cake, and remove the pan sides.
The cake can be served at this point or cooled completely and stored airtight in the refrigerator for a day or two. Serve warm or at room temperature. If stored, refresh in a 325-degree oven until warm before serving.
Vera Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks (available at Garcia Street Books in Santa Fe). Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com