Blueberry Orange Cake – Recipe!

Cakes make people happy, especially me. There is something inspiring about the process of actually putting together a cake – creaming butter and sugar, then adding the dry ingredients, alternating with liquid – it’s so sciencey. The final product always feels as though I have accomplished something big, and the aroma that circulates the house get others excited about cake too.

The crumb in this Blueberry Orange Cake is super moist, almost eggy and the pop of tangy blueberries adds to the luscious taste. When you take a bite, you almost feel as if you are eating a bread pudding, but with a crunchy crust on top. I tend to use frozen blueberries in this recipe because you can fold them into the batter without a mini berry explosion going on – it keeps the batter from turning blue. Here’s my tip – In the summer months or when blueberries become readily available in your marketplace, freeze a few pints. Then, when you want to create this lovely recipe, you have the perfect blueberries on hand. I think freezing your own berries is a better way to go than using the varieties offered at the grocery store, they are much more plump and juicy. But, you can buy already frozen blueberries for this recipe as well.

You will love this recipe for Blueberry Orange Cake because it is not overly sweet. You can eat this cake for breakfast, brunch, snack or dessert – basically anytime. I’m headed to the kitchen to have another slice. Yum!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon shortening or lard

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

zest and juice of 1 orange

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup milk

whipped cream, optional

(Serves 8)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch Springform pan. Set aside. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla extract, mix again on high speed for 1 minute.

2. Add the eggs and mix again for 2 minutes. Zest the orange and add it to the egg mixture, mix for 1 minute.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to remove any lumps. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients with 1/3 of the yogurt to the batter. Mix on low and repeat twice more.

4. The batter will be extra thick at this point. Squeeze the juice of the orange and add the milk to the batter, mix on low for 1 minute. Remove the mixer from the stand and stir in the blueberries by hand.

5. Dollop the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out on top. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 20-30 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick comes clean.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 25 minutes. Remove the outer ring and let the cake cool for another 20 minutes, before moving it to a cake stand or plate.