Blueberry Almond Cake

During this time of year, I find any excuse that I can to bake with berries.

So the other day I took a bunch of blueberries...

And baked a Blueberry Almond Cake!

The ingredients were pretty straight-forward.

But unlike the recipes I normally try, this recipe required me to weigh my ingredients! I actually like this method of baking, as it's so much more accurate- plus, it gives me an excuse to use my digital scale! So I started with the right amount of sugar...

And added vanilla...

Almond extract..

And eggs.

Using the whisk attachment, I beat the mixture for quite a few minutes until it was light, both in color and texture.

In separate bowls I measured out the self-rising flour...

And almond meal.

Once those ingredients were added to the sugar/egg mixture, I poured in some melted  butter and folded everything together.

When the batter was finished, I turned my attention to the pan. The recipe said to line the bottom and sides of a spring-form pan with parchment paper, but I was lazy and only lined the bottom. (I took a cake-decorating class years ago, and our instructor taught us to fold the parchment paper like a "snowflake" in order to make a circle that will fit the pan... isn't that a great idea?)

Once everything was greased, I poured in the batter.

At this point you're probably wondering about the blueberries.

Let me tell you- this was the fun part! I just got to plop the berries on top of the batter.

Obviously the berries started to sink, but before they did the pan sure looked funny! Once I had added all the berries, I placed the pan in the oven at 350 degrees.

And about 40-45 minutes later, I pulled this beautiful cake from the stove!

Isn't it pretty? I couldn't resist adding a few fresh blueberries to the top!

Along with a sprinkle of powdered sugar!

If you'd like to bake this cake for your friends and family, here's the recipe:

Blueberry Almond Cake
(Recipe courtesy of La Mia Vita Dolce/Grace's Sweet Life)


Ingredients:
4 large eggs
220 g (1 cup) caster (superfine granules) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
150 g (1 cup) self-raising (self-rising) flour
150 g (½ cup + 2½ tablespoons) butter, melted
120 g (1 cup) almond meal (ground almonds)
250 g (about 1¾ cups) blueberries, fresh or frozen
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line bottom (and sides if you're not lazy like me) of a 9-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper. Place the eggs, vanilla, almond extract and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk for 8 to 10 minutes or until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift the flour over the egg mixture and gently fold through. Add the butter and almond meal and fold through. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and top with the blueberries. Bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking time, 45 to 60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

But this cake is not only pretty... it's tasty, too!

As you can see, those berries sank right to the bottom of the cake, which makes for a tasty/tangy moist layer at the bottom.

If you like blueberries or almond, I highly recommend this tasty cake!

And if you make it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you have a great day!

Blueberry Bars...

When I was visiting the green-grocer the other day, I picked up some blueberries. I couldn't help it- they just looked so plump and yummy! Of course, I didn't have anything in mind for them when I bought them... so when I got home I concocted a new recipe for Blueberry Bars!
Here are the ingredients:
Once I'd put the dry ingredients, vanilla and cream in a mixing bowl, I got to work with my pastry knife.
After a few minutes, I had the perfect consistency- I wanted it to clump when I squeezed it with my hand, but still be crumbly. (I hope that makes sense...)
I reserved a cup of the mixture, and dumped the rest into the bottom of an 8x8 baking pan. I used my hands and the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust into place.
Once I was finished, I set it aside and worked on the blueberries.
After mixing them with sugar, I spooned them onto the crust...
And sprinkled the remaining mixture on top.
Easy, right? After half an hour in the oven, here's what I had:
Talk about yummy! Once the bars were cool, I sliced into 'em.
Now, I don't particularly like blueberries... but these bars are AMAZING!
If you want to try them for yourself, here's the recipe:

Blueberry Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 and 1/4 cups sugar (or 7/12 if that makes you feel better...)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cream
1/2 cup butter
1 pint blueberries (appr. 2 cups)
Directions:
Mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter, until mixture retains shape after being squeezed. Reserving 1 cup of mixture, pour the rest into 8x8 baking pan and press to form bottom crust. Add remaining sugar to blueberries, and spoon over crust. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture on top, and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven when crust browns (you can also increase the temperature towards the end for maximum color), and cool before serving.

Now, I must admit... these bars are very crumbly (in the most delicious way). Since I was making these bars for my students, I wanted to ensure that they could easily have a snack without making a huge mess. So, I cut up some wax-lined sandwich bags, and placed the bars inside. Now the students can just grab a bag and enjoy a bar!
If you have the time to spare, I highly recommend whipping up these yummy bars! I promise you won't regret it!
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful day!

Makin' muffins...

The other day, I was feeling guilty for neglecting my kitchen... so, I decided to whip up some Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins. I started with this tasty group of ingredients: Here's a little montage of the components- don't you love my new salt pig? SFS spotted it when we were out and about a few weekends ago, and I'm thrilled with it!
After everything was measured, I started mixing.
While the Kitchen Aid did her thing (yeah, mine's a girl), I turned my attention to the blueberries.
Aren't they pretty? They tasted pretty good, too!
Now, the recipe requires that you add the rest of the ingredients, alternating between the the dry and sour cream...
Before gently folding in the blueberries.
But before I go any further, I have to show you the muffin cups I used:
Don't you just LOVE that plaid? I couldn't resist picking up a container of these when I passed them in the grocery store!
But back to the task at hand. After I placed the liners in my muffin tin, I proceeded to make a huge mess by attempting to take a photo whilst pouring the batter!
But it was worth it...
Because that batter baked up into these sweet little muffins!
Aren't they cute?
I'll admit it- I'm a weak soul, and I couldn't stop myself from tearing off the muffin liner...
And diving right in! Now tell me- doesn't that look scrumptious? (And yes- I might of massacared the rest of the muffin in order to photograph the perfect forkfull... anything for my blog!)
If you'd like to try these muffins yourself, here's the recipe:

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins
2 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar
½ cups Vegetable Oil
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoons Almond Extract
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Blueberries
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prepare your muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda, and set aside. In your mixer, beat your eggs on medium-low and gradually add in sugar. Then slowly add in the oil and extracts. Alternately add in the flour and sour cream until all combined and then gently fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes.

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a great Thursday!