Blueberry Blitz Cake

Blueberry Blitz Cake

Serves 6

I found a raspberry buttermilk cake recipe in an old Bon Appetit, but as usual, I didn't have the ingredients to make anything out of that silly magazine. So, I went with what I had: Buttermilk, a lemon, and a cup of blueberries. It turned out terrific. Perfect for coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon, and dessert in the evening. --AnglophileinLA

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar, plus 1 Tb sugar divided

¾ tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

Zest from 1 lemon

½ cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 cup frozen blueberries (or any berry, raspberry works well too)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in the middle.

2. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and lemon zest, then add the egg and beat well.

5. Mix in flour, alternating with buttermilk, mixing until just combined.

6. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing the top.

7. Scatter the cup of blueberries evenly over the top, then sprinkle with the 1 Tb sugar.

8. Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

I would be tempted to do a Moroccan spin on this with cinnamon, cardamom, orange rind and orange flower water instead of the lemon zest and blueberries. The buttermilk cake base is so versatile.