More Blueberries

Here we go again, more blueberries. You can see the nuances of my obsessiveness even in what I eat. I find something I like and I get as much of it as I possibly can until I'm practically sick of it or it starts to feel trapped--or in the case of food, it goes out of season. I do it when I buy a new album; I do it when I get new clothes; and even in the history of this blog I've obsessed over squash, mushrooms, almonds, cranberries, marsala and now blueberries. These are all moves I will never regret. And this cake just might be the pinnacle of my experimentation in blueberries.

The recipe was featured in Gourmet's July issue, and I sort of just passed over it, until I saw it on the blog Cucina Nicolina. It's funny, for those of you not fully entrenched in the world of the food blog, but I get a lot of inspiration from seeing what other people make on their blogs. I have a number of cookbooks and magazines at home filled with great recipes, but for whatever reason I see these things as if in real time and I think: "Oh yeah, that looks good. I can totally make that." Whereas when Jamie Oliver publishes a new cookbook, I gaze longingly at the pages of beautifully photographed, delicious food with inspirational recipes to go along with and I love it, but I also think "What the hell are courgettes and when am I ever going to eat a lamb shank for dinner?" Not kidding. When I bought the Jamie at Home cookbook, I went through and googled quite a list of ingredients I had never heard of--only to discover courgettes is British for zucchini.

In that vein, this cake requires no less than four mixing bowls. But it's totally doable. And completely delicious. I made it to take to Aaron and Laura's tonight, but I'm pulling this trick where I pre-cut the cake so no one will know that Megan and I already ate a couple pieces. We were in the kitchen last night licking the beaters, spatula and bowl. This cake--moist, sweet and addictive.

Coming up next on Food Eaten I'll finally make granola with the help of Sprouted Kitchen and I'll have a go at these green beans from Food Loves Writing. And later I'll ponder why I never cook with meat.

Blueberry Streusel Cake: adapted from Gourmet
Streusel:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch slices
almonds (just a suggestion)

Cake:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Gourmet suggests sour cream)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 stick softened butter
1 egg
3 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Gourmet suggests lining a 9x9 pan with aluminum foil, which I did not do but now realize it was to pull the cake cleanly out of the pan without it crumbling.

For streusel topping, combine flour, sugars and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter and blend using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Alternately combine flour and yogurt mixtures to the batter beating until smooth each time until completely incorporated. Be sure to taste batter frequently--just to make sure it's OK. Using a spatula, stir blueberries into the batter.

Pour batter into your pan. Gourmet suggests using a 9x9. I used a 9x12-inch pan because I need to feed (potentially) a lot of peope--I'm trying to trick them into thinking they're getting a large piece of dessert. If you use a 9x12-inch pan, you won't need to bake it as long.

Resume pouring batter into pan. Top the batter with 1/2 of the crumbled streusel. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and add the remaining streusel to the cake and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes in a 9x9-inch pan or 15 to 20 minutes in a 9x12-inch pan. Just bake until it's cooked through.