Crepes with Peanut Butter and Jam

  I made these crepes about 6 weeks ago and took a picture, even though I wasn't sure if I would be posting recipes anymore.  I saw the recipe in Food Network Magazine- it was a little blurb about Giada's new cookbook. 

Crepes are something that we ate on Sunday evenings sometimes, when I was growing up.  My mom would make a large stack of them and we would fill them with fresh or frozen fruit and a little sprinkle of powdered sugar.  They were a special treat for us  and I absolutely loved them.

 When I was a newly married person, about 11 years ago, I decided to make crepes for my husband.  He wasn't a fan and I didn't want to eat a whole stack of crepes by myself, so I didn't make them again.  It has been so long since I made crepes, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it correctly!

 The good news is, that after a few messed up crepes that were too thick, too pale, and misshapen, I got the technique down and we were able to enjoy this meal as a Breakfast for Dinner.  I made these on a night that I knew my husband wouldn't be home to eat with us, so there were no complaints at all.  These were fun too because they were filled with peanut butter,  jam (I used Crofters Fruit Spread) and fresh blueberries.

Here is the recipe for Crepes with Peanut Butter and Jam

 We enjoyed these with Alfresco Wild Blueberry Chicken Sausage Links


   

Blueberries and Cream Cupcakes

Last week my mother-in-law celebrated her birthday and of course we had to make her some sort of sweet treat to show our appreciation for all the love, care and help she gives our family.
We had fresh blueberries and I found a light cupcake that seemed like the perfect thing for a summer day. My girls helped me whip these up and also taste tested them, just to be sure they were good enough to share! They were enjoyed by all who tasted them- perfect for a birthday or just any day that deserves a sweet treat.


Blueberries and Cream Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
2 cups fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
*whipped cream

For the *whipped cream
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fold in blueberries by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until pale golden, about 25 minutes for standard and 15 for mini.

5. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Make the *whipped cream

1. Whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add confectioners’ sugar, and whisk until combined. If not using immediately, whipped cream can be refrigerated, covered tightly, up to 3 hours in an airtight container.

2. To finish, dollop cupcakes with whipped cream, and garnish with berries. Serve immediately.

Cooking School- Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

When my sister and brother were here visiting in June we had a bunch of blueberries and decided to make these Blueberry Oatmeal Bars. They were so good. Delicious right out of the oven and later, once they had cooled. I sent the leftovers with my husband to work and he kept commenting about how good they were. I didn't take a picture of them because I didn't get a chance.

Then, a few weeks later, we had lots of blueberries from picking at Grandma's, so we made them again. My girls helped measure, mix and stir. They had a blast scraping the batter into the pan and smoothing out the top. Then, they anxiously waited for the timer to go off.

This time, I took a picture and shared them at a dinner. They received rave reviews from everyone who tried one, even a few people who don't like "real" blueberries cooked into desserts.

This recipe is definitely a keeper and it is a fun one to have little ones help you make.

Bert’s Best Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
Adapted from C Is for Cooking
Makes 24 bars

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan witth aluminum foil. Lightly spray the foil with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter until fluffy. Beat in the oil, eggs, and vanilla. With a wooden spoon, mix in the flour mixture until blended. Stir in the oats and blueberries.
4. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes (or longer). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Lift by the parchment or foil from the pan and cut into 24 bar cookies.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

My husband's grandmother has bunches of blueberry bushes in her yard and those berries were ready for picking a few weeks ago. Luckily we had a morning that wasn't too hot or humid- it was actually a little bit overcast, and we set out to pick a large amount of blueberries.

The kids were great helpers and we ended up bringing home over a gallon of fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries are a favorite treat of my husband's and my kids, so I made sure to freeze a bunch of them, but I also wanted to make a breakfast treat with some of the berries.

I decided on this recipe because it doesn't contain whole grain flour. That may sound funny, but I wanted to make sure that my husband would eat these pancakes and he usually turns his nose up to the usual whole wheat pancakes or waffles I make. So these were definitely a treat for him. The batter is nice and thick and it holds the blueberry perfectly. These pancakes were light, fluffy and chock full of beautiful blueberries.


Here is the recipe for Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
* I used skim milk, low-fat buttermilk and subbed canola oil for the melted butter
* I added the blueberries to the pancakes after the batter was on the griddle, so the berries wouldn't run and turn the pancakes blue

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I made this Blueberry Coffee Cake for breakfast the other day and everyone thought it tasted like a giant blueberry muffin. There are no other flavors going on here, so it has a pretty basic taste. I had a slight problem getting mine out of the pan, some of the blueberries were abandoned on the bottom of the pan and it made me think that this could be served as a Blueberry Upside Down Cake because the blueberries sink to the bottom quite a bit.

All in all, it was a good little breakfast treat. Very simple and basic.

Here is the recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake from Cooking Light

Spicy Cucumber and Blueberry Salad

I know it really isn't "technically" summer yet, but guess what- at my house, it is. When you are dealing with mid 90's, no school, swimming, sun and fun- that is summer.

I' m all about the fresh and quick salads right now. I saw this in a magazine and decided it would be a fun twist on 2 of our favorite ingredients- blueberries and cucumbers. Plus, I love spicy, so this was a fun one to try.

Colorful, light and easy. I really couldn't ask for anything more on a hot summer day.

Spicy Cucumber and Blueberry Salad from Everyday with Rachael Ray
2 lbs. english cucumbers, halved lengthwise
salt
1 large jalapeno chile, seeds and ribs discarded, finely chopped
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbls olive oil
1 pint blueberries
1 cup cilantro leaves

1. Thinly slice the cucumbers into half-moons, about 1/8-inch thick; season with salt.
2. In a large bowl, combine the jalapeno, lime juice, garlic and cumin; whisk in the olive oil. Add the cucumbers, blueberries, and cilantro and toss to coat.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

For this month's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club, Sandi decided that we should get out of the kitchen and have a BBQ!

Sandi started us off with Scallops Grilled on Rosemary. Sounds like a pretty great way to get the menu going to me. We have a few appetizers to add to that- Roz picked Grilled Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms and Val decided on Barbeque Chicken Sliders with Pickled Onions.

We've got some great sides to round out the rest of the meal as well. Jerry prepared a Grilled Vegetable Salad with Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing and Jamie made Thyme Potatoes.

Once again, after looking at this menu, I am trying to decide which of these dishes I want to try next. They all look and sound amazing!

This time I chose a dessert. Ice Cream is something that I associate with summer and grilling out. I have many memories of having special homemade ice cream to go along with something that my dad would fix on the grill. I decided to finish off our meal this month with Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. Blueberries are in season and really, who doesn't want something as decadent as ice cream and cheesecake combined into a lighter dessert?

This ice cream has a few steps that require the stove top, but they only take a few minutes. They you can churn your beautiful purple custard into creamy, dreamy ice cream.

A few thoughts about this ice cream. I didn't really think that it had a strong cheesecake flavor, so if you don't like cheesecake, don't let that scare you off.
I also felt like it was just a little bit too sweet- next time I would reduce the amount of sugar that goes into the cream cheese/sugar/egg yolk mixture. I think you could take out about 1/2 cup and probably still be ok. Other tasters thought it was perfect, as is. But my preference would be to make it a little less sweet. It was still mighty delicious. The perfect afternoon treat to cool us down after day at the pool.

Make sure you check out what the other members of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club prepared for this month's BBQ and get inspired to step out of the kitchen!



Here is the recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Cooking Light

"Cooking School"- French Toast, 2 ways

Either one of these versions would make a great breakfast on a holiday morning like today.

Let me explain the "Cooking School" in the title.

It all started when we made these Bunny Buns ( the recipe is at the bottom of that post- it's really just a fancy way of twisting orange rolls). My daughter decided that she wanted to have a weekly "Cooking School" where she picked something and we made it together. Please forgive the formality of the title, but that is just what she said. I am by no means qualified in any way to call it that or teach, but it is what we are going with. :D

I decided that since summer was upon us, that this would be a great way to spend some time together in the kitchen.

Her first request- French Toast.

French Toast is not something that I make often. I guess because I usually feel like it doesn't come out quite right.
Well folks- "Cooking School" has cured the problem. I decided that we would make French Toast 2 ways- the traditional way and the baked way.

I searched for a basic French Toast recipe and found one by Alton Brown that fit the bill. It had a few extra steps that I have never seen before, but I have watched an episode or two of Good Eats, so I knew that if anyone had perfected a technique, scientifically, it was him. He uses half & half in the custard mixture and has you let the bread drip over a wire rack before you cook it, but I think what gives his French Toast the perfect texture and taste is the last step. He has you warm the oven and the french toast goes into the hot oven for 5 minutes, which puffs it up and makes it turn out restaurant style. We topped our french toast with a homemade strawberry sauce and strawberry whipped cream.

Baked french toast is just a slightly healthier version of bread pudding, in my opinion. I have made it a few times in the past. This recipe is basic and very good. We loved it.

Of course we didn't make these 2 recipes in the same day, but it was a lot of fun.

My daughter decided that the next series in our "Cooking School" should be salad, because these were a little on the rich side!


Here is the recipe for French Toast from Alton Brown
* We used real maple syrup instead of honey
* We used challah and topped it with a homemade strawberry sauce & strawberry whipped cream
* We only used 2 Tablespoons of butter to cook the french toast in our electric skillet in 2 batches

Here is the recipe for Baked French Toast with Blueberries from Giada de Laurentiis
* We used sourdough bread

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club- Mixed Greens with Blueberry Vinaigrette with homemade Blueberry Vinegar

Jerry picked our theme- 100 Miles of Flavor-for this month's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.
We were each to choose a recipe that showcased a local ingredient, something that could be found within 100 miles of where we live.
Here is how the menu turned out- the local ingredients are in parentheses.

Jerry - Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom-Red Wine Sauce- (local beef and wine)

Sandi - Peas and Orzo with Pesto - (peas, basil and Southern pecans )

Mary Ann - Mixed Greens with Blueberry Vinaigrette (Blueberry Vinegar) (local blueberries and honey)

Jamie - Grilled Ginger-Lime Shrimp (Gulf of Mexico Seafood)

Roz - Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Marscapone Cheese-(local rice)

Val - Fallen Chocolate Cake with Cherry Red Wine Sauce - (local cherries and wine)

For my local ingredients I decided to use blueberries and honey. I found this great recipe for blueberry vinegar that is used in a fabulous vinaigrette and it was the perfect fit.

I decided to use blueberries that I picked from my husband's grandmother bush last summer, that I had frozen to make the blueberry vinegar. (She lives about 7 minutes from us, so that is pretty local). I read the reviews on the recipe and someone else had mentioned that they used frozen blueberries to make the vinegar and it worked out fine.

Making the blueberry vinegar was really easy. I just combined a couple of ingredients on the stovetop and let the mixture sit, and then strained the vinegar. I let the vinegar sit overnight and then made the salad and vinaigrette the next day.

The salad is very simple. Baby arugula-I also threw in some spinach, red onion, blueberries and then a quick vinaigrette, which contains the blueberry vinegar, a little honey, dijon mustard, and olive oil. So simple and so delicious.
I had leftover blueberry vinegar and we have been drizzling it on all sorts of things. The other night we had salmon, quinoa, broccoli and cauliflower and I thought we could drizzle the vinegar over the salmon. My daughter liked it so much that she drizzled blueberry vinegar over everything on her plate. The rest of the family followed suit.

This was a great salad and it was really fun to learn how easy it is to make flavored vinegar.
Check out the rest of this great local menu above.


Here is the recipe for Blueberry Vinegar

Here is the recipe for Mixed Greens with Blueberry Vinaigrette
* I added baby spinach to the salad
*I omitted the frisee because I couldn't find it anywhere

Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake

This is a horrible picture of a wonderfully delicious cake that got rave reviews.
My mother-in-law asked me to make a couple of treats for her work party that could be made ahead of time. I was thinking summer flavors and this blueberry lemon combination won over all the other ideas.
I made it the night before, glazed it, and then she kept it covered until the next night.
Bundt cakes usually do well when they sit overnight, so I took my chances and it worked with this cake.

I only had 1/2 cup of sour cream in my fridge, so I used 1/2 cup of low-fat buttermilk to make the full cup of dairy for this cake.
I also used a glaze of fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar that was shown when this cake was made in the video included with the recipe.
I also used more lemon zest than it called for because sometimes I get carried away with my zesting.

I wish I would have gotten a better picture of this cake since it was such a hit.
Everyone requested the recipe- I wish I could have tried a slice!


Recipe for Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake
* I used 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk for 1/2 cup of the sour cream



Don't forget to enter the giveaway I posted yesterday!

Watermelon Blueberry Pops

Me and the kids just got back from a little vacation. One of my best friends was here visiting me and we decided to drive to DC to visit my sister and some other friends. On the way back we went to Savannah and then arrived home yesterday.

In DC they were already getting ready for the 4th of July festivities. It reminded me of the great time we had there last year celebrating the 4th.

On a side note- my sister took us to eat at Zaytinya in downtown DC and it was fantastic. It features small plates and great flavors. If you are in the area, you should definitely give it a try.
A couple of weeks ago I made these Watermelon Blueberry Pops.
I had been waiting for a good price so that I could buy a watermelon and the one I finally picked was amazingly delicious. It reaffirmed my belief that I could live on watermelon alone.
I saw this recipe in Ellie Krieger's So Easy Cookbook and these popsicles really were just that- so easy.
You just have to puree watermelon chunks (making sure you don't eat the entire watermelon in the process) with a little powdered sugar and lime juice.
Then you put the mixture in popsicle molds or plastic cups and drop in blueberries.
I wish I would have made these in popsicle molds because they were slightly difficult to eat due to the large size. They were still delicious though.

The fun part is that in the freezer a white layer forms at the top of the popsicle and makes this frozen treat truly patriotic looking.

Perfect treat for a hot afternoon or sticky summer night!

Watermelon Blueberry Pops adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy
3 cups cubed seeded watermelon (from about 2 pds with the rind)
2 Tbls fresh lime juice
2 Tbls confectioner's sugar
1 cup blueberries

Puree the watermelon, lime juice, and sugar in a blender.
Distribute the blueberries among six 8-ounce popsicle molds or paper cups, then fill each with the watermelon mixture and place in freezer.
If using paper cups, place a popsicle stick in the center of each cup after a 1/2 hour in the freezer.
Allow to freeze completely, about 4 hours.

Recipes from Gale Gand's Brunch

Have you seen this book, Brunch by Gale Gand? Well, it is a really good one, full of delicious pictures and great recipes.

It has been sitting on my book shelf for quite a while and I decided it was time to give some of the recipes a try.

The other day we had Backwards Day at our house. We ate brownies for breakfast, read our bedtime story after that, went to the library in our pajamas, etc. and we finished off the day by eating brunch instead of dinner.
I chose 4 recipes from this book for our menu- Pineapple-Blueberry Smoothie, Roasted Pears & Rhubarb w/ orange, Bacon Waffles, and a variation of the cover recipe- Egg Cups.
I don't like cooking with bacon and usually don't, but my kids love it when they get the chance to have some and I figured this was a fun way to use it.
We spent the afternoon swimming, so when I started making all these recipes, everyone was starving. I was almost out of eggs, so I used egg substitute in the waffles. (not by choice, I couldn't run to the store at that point)
The batter was light and airy, which made delicious waffles.

The smoothie was one of the best I have ever had. I don't know if it was simply because we had been out in the hot sun for hours and I was overly thirsty or just the wonderful combination (I am leaning towards this explanation) but it was great. The frozen pineapple and mint just added a delicious zing to the smoothie. My girls always like having their smoothies in "fancy" cups.

The egg cups were delicious. I didn't really use her recipe, but it was the same idea. I added some spinach to get some sort of vegetable in there.

The roasted fruit was really good. I liked the rhubarb part better because the sweet roasting liquid really went well with the tartness of it. The pears were a little too sweet. I would reduce the sugar in that one next time. The roasted fruit would be a great topping for vanilla ice cream or filling for a crumble/cobbler.

Overall, this was a really fun brunch, even if it was for dinner and we loved it.

Bacon Waffles (* I used 1/2 cup egg white substitute and low fat buttermilk)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup whole milk
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
maple syrup, for serving

Heat a waffle iron.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour and next 3 ingredients.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and next 3 ingredients.
Stir crumbled bacon into the wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once, just until combined.
Don't overmix- it should be lumpy.
Make waffles according to manufacturer's directions; serve with maple syrup.


Egg Cups
I kinda did my own thing here.
I combined 3 eggs, 4 egg whites and 1/3 -1/2 cup skim milk in a bowl, then seasoned it with salt and pepper.
I sprayed a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray and press a ham slice in each of the muffin cups.
I steamed some spinach and placed that at the bottom of the ham cup.
I poured the egg mixture into the ham cups and then added cubes of mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes to the egg mixture.
I baked them at 375 degrees F, until the egg was completely cooked, about 17-20 minutes.

Pineapple-Blueberry Smoothie * I used Apple Passion-Mango juice concentrate and Stonyfield Blueberry Low-fat Yogurt
2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 fresh mint leaves

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Roasted Pears & Rhubarb with Orange (I halved this recipe)
4 medium pears, ripe but firm
4 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and washed
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbls honey
2 Tbls red wine ( I used cranberry juice)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split open
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Quarter and core the pears (do not peel them). Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, combine orange juice and remaining 6 ingredients. Add the pears and rhubarb, and toss to coat.
Pour into a casserole or gratin dish and bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

French Toast Bite Kebabs with Blueberry Sauce

This is a recipe from a cute cookbook called- Cooking Together from Williams Sonoma by Erin and Tatum Quon. I love any recipe that makes meals more fun and exciting and also really like getting my kids to help me in the kitchen.
This is a pretty basic french toast recipe, except for the fact that you cut your bread into cubes and can turn it into kebabs. Also there is a homemade blueberry sauce/syrup that goes along with this.
I followed the recipe pretty closely except that I use a whole wheat baguette for my bread. Next time I will definitely toast my bread cubes, as they didn't stay as firm as I would have liked.

I also did not cook the bites in butter. I just sprayed my skillet with cooking spray and had no problems getting them to brown up.

After you cook them, you toss the warm french toast cubes in cinnamon-sugar, which adds a little bit of sweetness and really takes away the need for any syrup, in my opinion.

My kids loved this breakfast. It was really a fun one to make and eat together.

French Toast Bites with Blueberry Sauce from Williams-Sonoma Cooking Together by Erin and Tatum Quon

1 pint blueberries
¾ cup maple syrup
2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk (I used low-fat)
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
6 slices country bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used a whole wheat baguette)
2 Tbls butter (I used cooking spray)

Combine the blueberries and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Set aside.

Combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, milk, vanilla, and salt. Add the bread cubes and toss so that all sides are coated and egg mixture is soaked up.

Over medium heat, melt 1 Tbls butter and add half of coated bread cubes. Cook, until golden, turning on all sides.

Toss in cinnamon sugar.

Repeat with remaining bread cubes.

These can also be put on skewers with fruit and dipped in the sauce.

One Year Ago- Greek Salad

Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread Muffins without Cream Cheese Glaze

My husband knows how much I love to bake.

A couple of weeks ago, he suggested that we take some kind of baked good to the people who were selling us their house.

We got a really good deal because they had to move. We even managed to get their fridge.

From the day we moved from Utah, to the day we moved into our house, I think I baked 3 things. That really isn't very many considering I was baking multiple times a week before that. I even went a whole month without baking a single thing.

Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal, but for me, it was wierd. I love being in the kitchen.
I love baking.

Here is one of those 3 things.

I baked these muffins to take to our house-sellers. They weren't home. We ate them instead.

Now, this is supposed to be a banana bread loaf, but I was thinking that mini servings are easier to share, so I made muffins and I also decided to just do a simple powdered sugar/fresh lemon juice glaze instead of the cream cheese one that was included with the recipe. I didn't want to take away from the banana/blueberry thing that was already going on.

We all enjoyed this variation. And it just happens to be blueberry season, right here in good
ol' GA.


Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread with Cream-Cheese Glaze adapted





2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 eggs)
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
Cooking spray

Glaze: (I didn't use this glaze. I just mixed some powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the banana bread, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until mixture is well blended (about 1 minute). Add mashed banana, egg substitute, sour cream, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Gently fold in blueberries and lemon rind. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray or a muffin tin. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or 20-25 minutes, if you are doing muffins, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the bread 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove the bread from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over cooled bread or muffins.

I got 17 muffins from this recipe.

The Cake Slice-Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake

Wow- it feels like it has been forever since I actually baked something and posted about it! We are finally in our house and have internet service. Who knew it would take so long?

I am a day late posting for The Cake Slice. This month's cake was Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake. I made this in DC, when we were up visiting my sister for the 4th. My little nephew was so entraced with the cake layers and swirls, he couldn't stop praising my work.
My sister thought she had 3 cake pans that were the same size, but after searching for awhile, I decided to make this cake in 2 8-inch pans and a springform pan. Then I just cut the layers down to the same size.
The blueberry preserves in the middle and swirled in the layers were delicious. The recipe says to strain out the peels of the berries, but I didn't, because I like that part and preserves to me are supposed to be a bit chunky and full of pieces of fruit.

I also used Dorie's cream cheese frosting to frost this cake instead of the frosting called for. Dorie's frosting has a great lemon flavor. We had big plans on the 4th and I didn't want to be in the kitchen all day.

This cake was a big hit. Everybody loved the flavors and it felt very summery. We made trifles with the cake scraps that we trimmed off. Check out what everyone else thought about this cake by looking at The Cake Slice Bakers!


Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake from Sky High by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tsp lemon extract
7 egg whites
3 cups cake flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups milk
Fresh blueberries, for decoration

Lemon blueberry preserves (below)
Lemon buttercream frosting (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites 2 or 3 at a time, beating well between additions and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk gently to blend. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute to smooth out any lumps and aerate the batter.
Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Divide the remaining equally among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. This gives you a smooth surface to work with. Add 2½ tbsp of the lemon blueberry preserves to the reserved batter and blend well. Drizzle heaping teaspoons of this blueberry mixture over the batter in the pans. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the lemon batter without mixing it in.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer stuck in the centre comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Lat the layers cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper and leaving to cool completely.

Lemon Blueberry Preserves
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree the blueberries with any juices that have exuded in a blender. Pass the puree through a coarse strainer to remove the skins.
In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blueberry puree with the sugar, lemon juice, zest and ginger. Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring often for 20 minutes, or until the preserves have thickened and are reduced to 1 cup. To check the proper thickness place a small amount of a saucer and put in the freezer until cold. Drag your finger through it. If a clear path is made through the preserve then it is ready. Let the preserves cool before using. (Can be made up to 5 days in advance).

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 eggs
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat.
In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beast the eggs briefly. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl; be careful to avoid hitting the beaters or the syrup may splatter. When all the syrup has been added, raise the speed to medium,-high and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and cooled to body temperature. This can take 15-20 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the softened butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. As you’re adding the last few tablespoons of butter, the frosting will appear to break, then suddenly come together like whipped butter. Beat in the lemon juice, and the frosting is ready to use.

To Assemble
To assemble the cake, place a layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half of the lemon blueberry preserves over the top. Place a second layer on top of the first and spread the remaining preserves over it. Finally place the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the lemon buttercream.
Decorate with fresh blueberries and serve.
Makes one 8 inch triple layered cake.

Coming on Thursday- My pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly!