Rev: Blueberry Brunch Cake

[badunnin]

I haven't seen this one reviewed yet, so here goes.

Good stuff! Great texture, great flavour, very well balanced - not too sweet for breakfast. The only change I might possibly make would be to cut down on the butter. When I ate a slice (generous serving sizes, btw) off my paper towel on my way to Costco this morning (sans sour cream/yogurt sauce), it left a bit of grease behind. But, I'm not a huge blueberry fan, and I'd make this again!

Ease: 4.5/5
Texture: 5/5
Taste: 4.5/5

[casana]

I was thinking of making it for a brunch tomorrow - glad to hear that its easy & tasty!
-Ana

[jm1717]

I have this on my "to try" list, it sounds great. Thanks for the review!

[Leisa M]

Originally posted by jm1717
I have this on my "to try" list, it sounds great. Thanks for the review!

Ditto:)

[gltrgrl1]

Thanks so much for the review! I just bought blueberries this morning and am going to make it tomorrow for breakfast.

[Leisa M]

I have canned blueberries would that work?

[badunnin]

Originally posted by Leisa M
I have canned blueberries would that work?

I've never worked with them. The only thing that would concern me is if they are in any kind of sauce. That might turn the batter blue, and make it look less appetizing.

[Vicanddi]

Leisa, I'm sure the canned blueberries would be fine. Just rinse and drain them well first.

[MKBG]

I actually served the blueberry brunch cake as the dessert to my anniversary meal last week - and fell madly in love with it. It does work for dessert. DH preferred it with sweet whipped cream to the topping that came with the recipe - I preferred the topping.

To add to my pleasure - it was also the only cake I've ever made from scratch that came out perfectly - not dry, not crumbly. All in all it was very exciting.

[HRJ]

I made this yesterday ... I'm glad so many people liked this recipe, but I was very disappointed. I loooooove blueberries, so I was pretty excited when I first saw this recipe.

But, I think this cake is way too sweet -- and I didn't even sprinkle the sugar/nutmeg on the top. It kind of left this cloying aftertaste in my mouth. I've had better blueberry cakes -- maybe they weren't as "light" as this one, but I'd put up with a few more fat grams to help tone down the sweetness.

Helene

[semmens]

I made this tonight; we all liked it a lot!

Will definitely make it again, even with all the springform/parchment fiddling around.

Laura

['lil cooker]

This was delicious - can't decide if this recipe will replace the old CL standby - Huckleberry Coffee Cake. A perfect texture and sweetness - my family devoured it. The topping is good, but not necessary. It's just wonderful as it is!

[Peggy]

I made this recipe this morning for Father's Day brunch and my DH loved it! Very easy to make. I didn't do the sour cream/yogurt topping because I thought the cake was fine on it's own. I'm with lil cooker... I'm not sure if this one will replace the Huckleberry Coffeecake in our house either. It's been so long since I made that one and I remember both being equally good. ????

Peggy

[Vicanddi]

I made this last night. Very yummy! Will be making this again. I used frozen blueberries, think that was my only change. I had the hardest time finding the turbinado sugar, finally found it at Whole Foods. I liked the cake without any topping, thought it tasted that good, didn't even boher making the topping. Sent a slice off to work with DH today, he likes it too. I haven't made the huckleberry coffee cake yet, so I don't reaslly have to much to compare it too. Maybe I'll make the huklberry cake next, and see which I like better.

[rljohnsufl]

I made this cake last week for some houseguests, who incidentally did not touch it. Their loss! I really liked this cake, but it was DBF who seemed to enjoy it the most. He told me it was the best dessert I had ever made, then paused and said "Well, aside from the Cocoa Fudge Cookies. Anyway, the best cake I've ever had." He liked that it wasn't too sweet and he really loved the tangy topping. My only problem is that blueberries are only in season right now, and I know that this will be requested again before next summer. I guess I can used canned or frozen berries, or try to adapt it to another fruit...

[Laurielee]

I also made this for fathers day, but everyone got a hold of it Sat sothere wasnt much left. everyone thought it was very good. I also didnt use the topping and I dont think it needed it.
Laurie

[swquilts]

Question.....

Would raspberries work as well??

[Vicanddi]

rljohn, I used frozen berries and it tastes great. Not sure about raspberries, probably wouldn't hurt to try it. Let us know if you do. :)

[CompassRose]

Mmm, blueberries. We don't have cheap Canadian blueberries here yet... :( and the frozen ones have been really expensive all year (no blueberry pancakes THIS winter, either). I will have to try it though when we do. Been wanting some CAKE.

I think you could use canned blueberries... easy... just make the cake but DON'T put the blueberries in. Dollop in batter and canned blueberries into the pan alternately, and swirl like a marble cake instead. Then it would be pretty, and not that sorta weird all-greenish colour.

[karen w]

I have made this twice now(sans topping!). The first time I used frozen wild blueberries. I flavored this one with the orange rind, O.J., and a bit of orange extract. I had leftover blueberries and buttermilk, so I decided to make it again. I did not have quite enough blueberries, however, so I added some frozen raspberries to make up the difference, and used lemon rind with some lemon extract to flavor this one. Both the frozen raspberries and blueberries worked well. I dusted them with a little flour before mixing into the batter, and tried to keep the mixing to a minimum so as not to get a funky colored cake! I agree that this cake is a close contender with the Huckleberry Coffee Cake!

Karen

[ErinM]

Which issue is this from?

[pilgrim719]

It's in the June '03 issue on page 244.

Kari

[pilgrim719]

I showed DH the picture of this cake the other day in the magazine and he came home yesterday with a container of fresh blueberries and asked me to make it for him. So I did today! :) We just had some for dessert and it is so good! I left out the lemon rind and didn't make the topping, but other than that followed the recipe. The cake is so moist and has a great texture. We both thought the cake had the perfect sweetness to offset the slightly tart berries. I heated mine in the microwave for about 10 seconds and it was even better warm! I've never made the Huckleberry Coffee Cake, but maybe I should try that one and see how it compares, since you all like that one just as much, or more than this cake.

Kari

[alicerh]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rljohnsufl
My only problem is that blueberries are only in season right now, and I know that this will be requested again before next summer.

When your local blue berries are at their best, just fill freezer bags with them and freeze enough for all winter.
Alicve

[Natasha3]

Finally got around to making this on Saturday. While I've had the opportunity to enjoy some good blueberries already this year, when I was looking for some for this cake, the blackberries (on sale) and the local strawberries were calling to me, so I used those instead. I used proportionately more blackberries than strawberries, and decreased the liquid a bit because I find that strawberries tend to be more watery than blueberries in baking. Worked out wonderfully -- very moist, but not overly so. :) This cake went quickly -- with some help from guests, by last night it was gone. One guy really wants the recipe (and he is NOT normally the kind of guy to request a recipe!! :p).

I made the topping, but for the most part we just ate it without. I'll make this one again for sure, and when using blueberries, will probably increase the lemon taste, because blueberries and lemon are one of my favourite combinations. :)

Natasha

[Leisa M]

Thanks for the idea to use blackberries in this instead of blueberries. Did you change the baking time any for the blackberries, and did they hold their shape OK?

[Natasha3]

Hi Leisa!

No, I didn't change the baking time any because of the blackberries; the cake may have been done a few minutes earlier than the time stipulated in the recipe, but that's normal for the oven I used (the smaller oven of a dual-oven stove). Also, the blackberries did retain their shape and didn't colour the batter at all.

Enjoy, if you try it! :)

Natasha

[AdGirl]

i thought this was just ok. i forgot the sugar topping so maybe that would have made this awesome but it just tasted like one big muffin...

IMHO, the blueberry crumble pie is leaps and bounds better (and a fraction of the effort).

[WWShannon]

Well, this cake definitely didn't turn out as expected. I calibrated my oven to 350 and baked for 40 minutes. The cake was still watery. 15 minutes later and the center was still unbaked. I followed the recipe to a tee but subsituted skim milk for the orange juice. Could that have caused this mucky problem?
Shannon

[Meg O'C]

Pulling this one back up because NJ blueberries are ready! I had my June '03 issue out for something else when I re-stumbled upon this recipe. Although I had wanted to make it two years ago (bought the turbinado sugar and everything), I never got around to it. I remembered the mixed reviews, though! We fall in the camp of "YUM!" on this one - not too sweet, and I loved the crispy "crust" on top from the sugar. We had this as dessert last night (my mom, dad and sister came over) and it was a hit. I'm off to have piece for breakfast now! ;)

Not sure I'll make this again this season as I have a bunch of other blueberry recipes I want to try in the coming weeks . . . maybe though, we reallly did enjoy it!

[Linda428]

Can someone please post this recipe? Sounds delicious! Thanks!

[tholbrook]

Blueberry Brunch Cake
From Cooking Light

Sprinkle turbinado sugar and nutmeg over the batter to give the cake a glistening brown appearance and a sugary, sweet crust. If you can't find turbinado sugar, combine light brown sugar with the nutmeg, and sift the mixture evenly over the batter.

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray; line with parchment or wax paper. Coat bottom and sides with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.

Combine granulated sugar and butter; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg and egg white; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine the buttermilk, orange juice, lemon rind, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in 1 1/2 cups blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Combine turbinado sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl; sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350° 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove sides of pan.

Combine sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and yogurt. Serve cake warm or at room temperature with sour cream mixture and blueberries.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice cake, 2 tablespoons sour cream mixture, and 1 tablespoon blueberries)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 235(31% from fat); FAT 8g (sat 4.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 4.7g; CHOLESTEROL 40mg; CALCIUM 87mg; SODIUM 274mg; FIBER 1.3g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 36.6g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2003

[ElinorC]

Thanks for bringing this recipe up again. I tried it today and I liked it a lot. I didn't use the topping since it was fine without it. I'm looking forward to it for breakfast, not brunch! :D

[pattyp.]

When blueberries are in season, buy and freeze. Just wash real good, lay out on a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer. When they are frozen, just but in baggies and in the freezer. They're like little marbles. So easy to use in pancakes, muffins, etc.

[tholbrook]

I finally got around to making the Blueberry Brunch Cake last night (we had it for breakfast this morning). For taste, I'm giving this a 10 out of 10 (rating is without the yogurt/sour cream topping which was okay but nothing spectacular). Very light texture, just the right amount of sweetness, and we loved the crunchy "crust".

I have quite a few other blueberry coffeecake-type recipes on my 'to try' list, but I would definitely come back to this one.