Blueberry Surprise Cake

Blueberry Surprise Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 198.

I have been trying for years to grow blueberries at my mother's house but apparently they don't like the soil there. They produce a few berries but the bushes just do not seem to want to grow. Fortunately, I have friends who give me blueberries! I received 2 bags of frozen berries recently and checked Maida's book to see what I could make with them. I decided to try this cake and it was so good! Not too sweet, very reminiscent of a coffee cake. It is a recipe that I will be doing again for sure.

Blueberry Filling

1 cup fresh blueberries
3 TBS. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon juice (before squeezing the juice, zest the lemon and reserve it for the cake)

Cake

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon (reserved from the filling)
1/3 cup toasted pecans, cut into medium-sized pieces

 

First, prepare the blueberry "surprise" (the filling) by combining the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Lightly toss the berries and let them stand. I added a bit of flour to mine in case they wanted to sink to the bottom of the cake.

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9x3 springform pan and dust it with fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Beat the butter until soft and add the vanilla and sugar.
Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.

Add the sour cream and beat only until incorporated (scrape the sides of the bowl to mix it well).

On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until smooth.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the grated lemon zest.

Add half of the mixture to the pan and smooth it out.

Now add the blueberries over the top leaving them about
1 1/2 inches away from the sides of the pan.

Add the pecans to the remaining batter and mix well.

Now add the remaining batter on top of the blueberries and spread it until smooth.

Bake for 60 - 70 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Let the cake stand for about 15 minutes while you prepare the glaze.

Glaze

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 TBS. lemon juice
A few drops boiling water

Whisk the sugar and lemon juice and a few drops of boiling water to make it semi-liquid. The mixture should be thick and barely thin enough to pour.

Release the cake from the springform pan and turn it out onto a baking rack. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let it run down the sides. (Place a piece of parchment or wax paper underneath to avoid a mess).