April 1st! It seemed like March was never going to end. I’ve missed making cakes and frostings—assembling, decorating, delivering. I miss creating custom cakes for your celebrations.
Over the last few weeks of social distancing, staying home, etc., I’ve let go of the pressure to bake and post to social media. I’ve been in an alternating news / toddler induced fog. That said! I’ve made a few breakfast-type baked goods; ideal for snacking, ideal for freezing and microwaving. Casual, delicious, decadent with a scoop of ice cream.
Up first are these blueberry cakes! I baked them in a mini-cheesecake tin for whatever reason; definitely use a muffin tin & liners if you’re more inclined! I have a hodgepodge of various flours in my pantry, so decided to incorporate a few of them instead of leaning solely on all-purpose (you know, so I wouldn’t blow through it all before the next grocery run in 2 weeks). If you don’t already, I would really recommend getting some buckwheat and nut flours into your pantry—they really make a wonderful difference in taste and texture. And this time seems as good as any to experiment!
If you’re not familiar with Wyman’s frozen Maine blueberries, well, I’ll just leave you with this tidbit. I ate an outrageous amount of fresh blueberries during the summer I was pregnant with Lilly in Maine. When Lilly was old enough to try her first blueberry (in KC at this point), she wanted nothing to do with them. I was like, huh, interesting, that’s too bad. But I also didn’t blame her—the fresh ones we got at the store here were bland at best. Flash forward to my finding Wyman’s, and suddenly we have an absolute fiend on our hands who wants nothing but frozen blueberries for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in between. Her desire for these things is beyond—she’ll even chomp through them frozen. And while I’m dreaming of the day we can be in Maine eating them fresh, I am thrilled to have this delicious alternative.
(I find Wyman’s at Whole Foods. They’ve been well stocked, even through the last month; otherwise I don’t know if I’d have been able to blast this secret!)
Blueberry Cakes
Yields 12 miniature cakes or muffins
Ingredients
3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (90 g) rye flour
1/4 cup (30 g) buckwheat flour
1/4 cup (30 g) ground hazelnuts (or almonds)
1 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cardamom
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c (100 g) granulated sugar
1/3 c (70 g) dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 g) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60 g) creme fraiche
2 cups frozen blueberries
Raw sugar, to finish
Direction
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (or grease with butter) and set aside.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and mix again.
Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla.
Add half of the dry ingredients followed by the buttermilk, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients, and finally, fold in the creme fraiche with a spatula, being careful not to over-mix.
Use an ice cream/cookie scoop (should be about 1/4 cup capacity) to divide the batter into the prepared tin. Place a palm-full of frozen blueberries onto each, and repeat with another scoop of batter followed by another handful of blueberries. Sprinkle with sugar, and bake for about 15 minutes before rotating the tin, and bake for another 15-20 minutes. They will be done when the tops spring back when pressed lightly.
