Once again, Dorie Greenspan is a genius. This simple, plain blueberry cake is easy and delicious.
Dorie considers it good for breakfast, lunch or brunch, but tell you what: it’s nice with a bit of ice cream on top after supper, too. Samantha enjoyed ‘helping,’ too.
Blueberry Cake
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pint blueberries
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 11-inch by 7-inch (a Pyrex pan is great) and place it on a baking sheet.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm, glossy peaks. Gently scrape the whites into a clean bowl if using a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. (There’s no need to clean the bowl.) Put the butter and the sugar in the bowl and beat on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat 2 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, then all of the milk, then the remainder of the dry ingredients.
Switch to a large rubber spatula and lighten the batter by stirring in about 1/4 of the stiffly beaten egg whites. Fold in the rest of the whites, working as gently as you can. Since the cake batter is heavy, it’s only natural that you will deflate the whites a little — don’t be concerned. Still working with as light a hand as possible, fold in the blueberries, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it is golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before dusting with confectioner’s sugar and serving warm.
Makes about 15 servings.
