Hey Y’all! Today I’m writing about this blueberry cake from Edna Lewis’ cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking. This might be the best cake I’ve ever made. The best part? This Blueberry cake doesn’t require a mixer-- a whisk will do!

If you’re new here, I’m Richelle and my baking style lately involves using brown butter and bourbon as much as possible. I’m always on #TeamSweetPotato and I firmly believe that cornbread needs a little sugar. A Blueberry Cake is basically a 180 for me, because it doesn’t have bourbon or browned butter, but I think a Blueberry Cake might become my go-to coffee cake. If we ever make it back into the office this would be a CROWD pleaser. Alright, you ready to dive a bit deeper into how to make a Blueberry Cake? Let’s go.

Every month Kayla over at Broken Oven Baking Company hosts a monthly baking challenge. We vote on what we’d like the challenge to be, and then we pick a date and share the results on instagram. (check us out by searching #brokenovenbakers ) For January 2021, we all voted to bake something that we’d never baked before. This left me with many options. Almost too many options, so like the procrastinator that I am, I only chose to make this Blueberry Cake two days before the collab share date. *facepalm Even then, I was aimlessly flipping through my cookbooks and found a post-it note on the blueberry cake page, calling me like a beacon.

Blueberry cake with blueberry sauce, reminds me of a blueberry buckle, but with way less sugar. The blueberry sauce, which probably deserves its own post, pulls the cake together adding more flavor. Put on a pot of coffee while you’re making this and you won’t regret it.

The Technique:

I learned a while back to just follow an Edna Lewis recipe exactly as written. Don’t add any extra equipment and don’t question the order of operations. There is a method to her recipes and you’re honestly better off just following it.

I have never before cut butter into flour for a CAKE recipe. I re-read that part 3 times and was like okay, we’re doing this. You can use your fingertips, like I did or you can use a pastry cutter.
Please note that the baking powder is added last. Don’t add it with the flour and salt. I know it’s not how most recipes go, but in order to get the crazy amount of lift to the Blueberry Cake, add it last.
There is very little sugar in this recipe. ⅓ of a cup and it’s really used as a garnish at the top of the cake. Honestly, you don’t need that much sugar. It’s good the way it is.

Special Equipment

The Blueberry Cake recipe as written calls for a 8 inch round cake pan, but other than this, a decently stocked kitchen should be able to make this recipe with minimal fuss. If you don’t have an 8 inch round, use a 9 inch pan and reduce the baking time a couple of minutes.

Other than the 8 inch cake pan, a decently stocked kitchen should be able to make this recipe with minimal fuss.

Blueberry Cake with Blueberry Sauce

Print Recipe

A tender crumb cake topped with blueberries and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and served with blueberry sauce.

Author: SouthernShelle
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 25
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Category: Cake

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line the 8 inch round cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or cooking spray.
In a small saucepan cover 1 ½ cup blueberries with ¾ cups of water and bring to a simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Using a mesh strainer, drain the liquid from the blueberries, reserving the liquid for the blueberry sauce. Take care to drain as much of the liquid so that the cake is not soggy. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl whisk together flour and salt. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the flour mixture has a coarse texture.
Whisk in the egg, milk and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.
Add the 1 tablespoon of baking powder.
Pour the cake mixture into the cake pan.
Evenly dot the top of the cake with the cooled blueberries.
In a small bowl, stir the sugar and cinnamon together. Evenly sprinkle this mixture over the cake.
Put the cake in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375ºF. Bake for 25- 28 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

To Make the Blueberry Sauce:

Return the blueberry juice to the saucepan and heat on medium heat. Pour in the sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch slurry. Heat until the sauce begins to thicken, whisking continuously, another 2-3 minutes.

Keywords: Blueberry Cake with Blueberry Sauce