Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake



Tomorrow I'm having a surgical procedure. Nothing huge, but I will receive general anesthesia and will most likely be quite uncomfortable for a few days. Stuff like this tends to give me a little bit of anxiety in the days leading up to it. To keep my mind of off things, I headed into the kitchen over the weekend to work on some recipes and posts so you guys would be well entertained during my "down time". Working in the kitchen, concentrating on a recipe, always has a calming effect on me and helps me to clear my head and this time was no different.

First thing I made was this Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake that I found once again on "Tasty Kitchen". It struck a chord with me right away for its flavor combination, but also for the simplicity of the recipe. Another bonus: getting rid of some of my very last frozen berries, which is perfect since fresh berry season is just around the corner. The cake is made quickly with just a few everyday items. Once baked, it almost appears like the cake has layers because of the blueberries sinking to the bottom and the taste is very reminiscent of an old fashioned cake you would find in Grandma's kitchen. The cake crumb is just lightly sweetened with hints of lemon throughout, without the citrus flavor being too overpowering. The buttermilk ensures a light and fluffy texture and the juiciness of the berries works perfectly. To top it all off, the cake has a crunchy sweet crust from sprinkled on sugar which is added right before baking. The sugar crust also helps balance the sweetness level.

This cake is simply wonderful for breakfast or even dessert, especially when enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea. Since I made this on the weekend it was an amazing early morning treat that everyone in the family gave the thumbs up to. This recipe worked great with the frozen berries and there was minimal "bleeding"; however, I'm really looking forward to making it again when fresh berries are in season. Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake; it's a good thing!



Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk, well shaken
5 ounces fresh (or frozen, un-thawed) blueberries

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches, mixing until just combined. Carefully fold in berries.

Pour batter into cake pan, spreading and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35* minutes. Remove from oven  and cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack and cool for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Invert onto a plate and cut into 8 slices.

*When using fresh berries start checking the cake after 20 minutes 

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

51 comments:

  1. Meine besten Wuensche fuer Deine MiniOP.
    Cake for breakfast is my very favorite! Der Kuchen ist bestimmt auch super lecker mit Himbeeren.

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  2. Oh yum. That sounds perfectly delicious! Gorgeous photos. The kitchen is my therapy too. Good luck with the medical procedure.

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  3. I am sure your surgery will go well but I'll be thinking of you! Baking is always a great distraction for me.

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  4. Good luck with your procedure! Love the look of this cake!

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  5. Good luck tomorrow! And this cake looks fantastic!

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  6. Good luck with everything tomorrow, I hope it goes well for you.

    This cake would definitely comfort me if I needed to be calmed down with something like that. It looks so amazing!

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  7. I hope your procedure goes off without a hitch, Susi. Your cake looks wonderful, but I hope you will rest and relax a few days before resuming to post here. Take care. Blessings...Mary

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  8. Good luck tomorrow! This looks so delicious.

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  9. Good luck with the surgery.

    This cake looks wonderful - I love using buttermilk in baking.

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  10. I'm hoping everything goes well for you. Let us know. Love this cake too, I wish I still had some left in my freezer, this year I'm stocking up.
    -Gina-

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  11. Susi, good luck with your surgery! Hope to see you back here soon. So the trick to using frozen berries is to keep them frozen, right? I was going to make blueberry muffins and I have some frozen berries to use but wasn't sure whether to thaw them first but I guess if I keep them frozen, my muffins won't turn blue? I hate when that happens, lol! Your cake came out perfect so I'll follow your lead!

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  12. Hope your procedure goes smoothly and you can are back on your feet (in the kitchen and at your computer!) soon. A great recipe to leave us with, though!

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  13. Take care and get some rest. Resting also includes enjoying slices of this beautiful cake I hope!

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  14. Good luck in the hospital! I'm especially empathetic, being that I am currently sitting in the hospital recovering from my cesarean. I know it doesn't mean much, because anxiety is pervasive and irrational thing, but try not to stress too much about it. It's almost always easier than you think it will me. You'll be back on your feet and cooking wonderful food for your family in no time at all.

    That being said, I find it so odd that I just saw this recipe 2 weeks ago and added it to my recipe box. I declared to my husband, "Holy crap, this looks so good! I'm so making this when I get out of the hospital." How funny is it that you posted this today? I'm drooling all over again, and thinking about how this will be one of the first things I bake when I am able to get back in the kitchen.

    Your pictures are lovely, as usual, and I'm looking forward to this cake even more than I was when I originally found it!

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  15. Remember that your kitchen and all your wonderful recipes will be waiting for you when you're feeling better;-) The best of luck to you tomorrow and thanks of thinking of us, your devoted readers and fans. This is my kind of simple flavorful cake with lemon and blueberries, a keeper for blueberry season! Thanks for sharing and take it easy;-)

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  16. Much luck for tomorrow, I hope it all goes as smooth as possible. This is a delish piece of baikng.

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  17. I love the blueberry and lemon combo. This cake looks fantastic :)
    Good luck with your procedure!

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  18. This is definitely a great combo of flavors! Good luck with your procedure!

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  19. Hope your surgery goes well. I love the look of this cake.

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  20. The cake is delectable! I can't resist those blueberries! Hope everything goes well Susi - you'll be in my thoughts. xoxo

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  21. I wish you good luck Susi, and hopefully everything go smoothly!!! And that cake, oh my goodness..it look stunning and soooo tasty! Love it!!!

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  22. Cooking calms my anxieties too. Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery.

    Velva

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  23. Susi- Best of luck with the procedure. I hope that everything goes well and you are feeling like yourself in no time at all. Cooking is a great way to busy yourself and produce tasty results at the same time:)

    This cake looks like an absolute winner!

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  24. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love fresh blueberries! This cake looks delicious..I am bookmarking this recipe to make this summer after blueberry picking. Good luck tomorrow! :)

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  25. Checking in from the Yosemite Valley! Hope the surgery goes well, Susi. We will be thinking of you. As for the cake, I'm all about lemon and blueberry right now. I'm on a bit of a lemon obsession. Love it!

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  26. hope everything goes well with the surgery and you are back on your feet soon.
    the cakes sounds great. i too have berries in the freezer waiting to be used.

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  27. Good luck with your surgery! This cake sounds lovely, love blueberries in cakes.

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  28. Mmmmmm...this looks fabulous, Susi. Thinking of you today...hope it all goes well, my friend.

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  29. The layering of the blackberries and lemon cake section is great. Looks so good!

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  30. This looks so delicious! The marriage of lemon and blueberries is always fabulous!

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  31. Oh I can't wait for fresh blueberries to come in our CSA! I'll be saving them for this beautiful cake! =)

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  32. I hope your procedure went well. I take my mind of things I'm anxious about by cooking too. Lovely cake! Buttermilk, lemon and blueberries, Fantastic combination!

    Get well!

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  33. Oooo la la! I love lemon and blueberry together. And I bet the buttermilk gives this such a great texture!

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  34. This blueberry lemon cake looks gorgeous!!

    Must make this!

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  35. Yum! I love the blueberry lemon combination.

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  36. Feel better soon, Susi! Thank you for posting such a lovely recipe...lemon and blueberry are such a great flavor combo. I'm saving this one as we love to eat stuff like this on the weekends as well!

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  37. I love buttermilk in cakes. It makes for a delicious crumb and I happen to have both buttermilk and blueberries in the fridge.

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  38. I'm loving this cake. Blueberrys are my favorite berry and I'm terribly naughty about not cooking with them. I'll have to be good and give this recipe a go. Good luck tomorrow!

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  39. This cake is amazing! That layer of blueberries looks fantastic...I'd love a slice of this for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
    Good luck with your surgery...wishing you a quick recovery.

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  40. Baking and eating this cake would be relaxing for me :) I hope that you found it relaxing and that your surgery goes well! Thinking of you.

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  41. I am a day late...I hope that everything went well with the surgery. Don't rush back to full activity and take time to heal! In the mean time, that cake looks super yummy.

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  42. I love that there is buttermilk in this recipe, I think it adds so much flavor to what we baking. This looks like a delicious dessert or a weekend breakfast with coffee.

    -Brenda

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  43. So sweet of you to leave us with such a delicious and addictive cake with the yummy blueberries. Hope all goes well with your surgery procedure.
    Lora is over her major surgery, and is recovering, we're hoping to have her home for the weekend...(maybe)
    You'll be in my thoughts dear Susie, for a quick recovery:D
    xoxo

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  44. This looks so delicious! I am printing it out now so I can try it soon!

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  45. I hope your surgery went well and that you're enjoying a speedy recovery! This cake looks absolutely perfect- I love the way it's in layers. :)

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  46. Hi Susi, Hope all goes well with your procedure and a speedy recover.

    This cake looks delicious. I've been given a blog award and I'm paying it forward to you which you can view at
    at http://wineladycooks.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-award-share-love-and-pay-it.html

    Thanks for sharing, and be well,
    Joanne

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  47. Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I'm so sorry to hear you have to undergo surgery - you will be in my thoughts and prayers... I too have always baked to remain calm before surgical procedures! This blueberry cake is positively gorgeous... I have blueberries leftover from winter in my freezer also - looking forward to fixing your beautiful recipe soon! Thank you for sharing!

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  48. Your blueberry cake looks amazing! I hope everything goes well with your surgical procedure.

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  49. Such a lovely cake. I invite you to link it up to Bake with Bizzy.

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    ReplyDelete
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