Blueberry Buttermilk Pound Cake!

 It's blueberry season in Kentucky and that makes me very happy!  Blueberries are quickly becoming

a more popular cash crop for Kentucky farmers looking for something to take the place of the dwindling tobacco market that used to be so widely grown.  

 I bought these blueberries at a local farmers market and they were grown on farm in Hawesville, Kentucky called Happy Hollow Blueberries!  They not only sell wholesale blueberries, but also blueberry plants if you are interested in starting your own blueberry growing operation.  They have over 50 varieties of blueberries.   The blueberries here in Kentucky get ripe about a month before the more northern states so it makes our blueberries attractive for shipping to other states.  

This blueberry pound cake is a great cake for a coffee cake or even a breakfast or brunch cake.  It's an easy cake to make, but it won't last long if it goes over like it does in our house.

 Here is what you will need:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2  1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups fresh blueberries (could use frozen)

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbs. lemon juice

2 Tbs. milk or half and half cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the oil and eggs. 

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Add the flour 1 cup at a time alternating with the addition of the buttermilk and ending with the flour.  Add the vanilla.  Mix just until blended.

Gently fold in the blueberries.  If you toss the blueberries with a couple tablespoons of flour before adding them to the batter,  they will not sink to the bottom of the pan.

Pour the batter into a Bunt pan that has been liberally sprayed with nonstick spray or greased well.  Bake for 1 hour and 10-15 minutes.   A pick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Remove and allow to sit in pan and cool for about 20 minutes before turning out onto a cake plate.

To make the glaze, simply stir together the powder sugar, lemon juice, milk or half and half and vanilla.  

Drizzle the glaze over the cake while it's still slightly warm.  The cake will drink in some of that glaze and become even more moist as it sits.  It's a pretty little cake to be so simple!





Hungarian Coffee Cake!

 

 

This is a really old recipe my mother has had for years and it is so good.  This coffee cake starts with a Sweet Roll Dough, that is a yeast dough.   This dough is good to make a lot of different breads, cakes, sweet rolls, or even dinner rolls.  

 

This coffee cake is not overly sweet or rich, but it has a wonderful buttery cinnamon flavor and smells heavenly while baking!  Here is what you will need for the dough and the cake:

 

Sweet Roll Dough

 

1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)

2 pkgs. active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups scalded milk, that has cooled to lukewarm

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

7 to 7 1/2 cups all purpose flour

 

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and set aside.  If the water is too hot it will kill your yeast, so just warm to touch is good.

 

Mix the warm milk with the sugar, salt and eggs.  Add the flour half at a time to the this liquid.  When it is mixed, add the yeast mixture and mix again.  Add just enough flour to make the dough workable.  It will still be sticky for best results.

 

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.   Place in a large bowl you have greased with oil, greased side up. Cover with a kitchen towel.  Allow to rise about 2 hours or until doubled.   Punch it down and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.  At this point you can make sweet rolls, coffee cake or rolls!   We are making "The Hungarian Coffee Cake", so this is what you will need for that:

 

Hungarian Coffee Cake

 

1/2 of the Sweet Roll Recipe (use the other half for dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls)

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

 

Cut the dough into pieces about the size of walnuts and roll them into balls.   Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts together in a bowl.  Roll the dough in the butter and then in the brown sugar mixture to coat them. 

 

Place a layer of the dough balls in a 9" Bundt pan you have sprayed well with baking spray.  The dough should just be barely touching.  Sprinkle a few of the raisins over the first layer.  Repeat another layer of dough and raisins.  Let rise for 45 minutes. 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Loosen from edges of pan with a knife and turn out onto a serving plate.   The butter and sugar will run down over the cake. 

 

Serve as is or sprinkle with a little powdered sugar!  This is really good while it's still warm!

 

 

 





Banana Cream Cheese Coffee Cake!

I love coffee cakes, especially those that are cinnamony and have nuts!   I also love bananas and things like banana bread.  This is sort of a blend of both.   It smells so good baking and right out of the oven it's to die for.   This is great with a good cup of coffee for an afternoon pick me up or even for a breakfast cake!   Here is what you will need for this:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

4 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Topping

1 cup chopped pecans

2 Tbs. butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, oil and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix after each addition.   Mix in bananas and vanilla.

Sift all dry ingredients together.  and add to the wet mixture.   Mix well.   Pour into a 9"x13" baking pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.  

Mix the nuts with the 2 Tbs. melted butter, the sugar and the cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake.  

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Cut in squares and serve!





Orange Streusel Coffee Cake!

There is just something about the word "streusel" in anything that makes me want to eat it!  I expect anything with the word 'streusel' in it to have a yummy ribbon of brown sugar goodness running through it and this cake doesn't disappoint.  This makes a wonderful breakfast cake or coffee cake!  This is what you will need for this yummy cake:

Streusel

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 Tbs. butter, melted

1 Tbs. orange zest

Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 Tbs. orange zest

1 tsp. almond flavoring

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup orange juice

Glaze

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 -2 Tbs. orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a Bundt pan or a tube pan with nonstick spray for baking.

Place the brown sugar, nuts, and flour in a bowl and mix.  Stir in the butter and orange zest.  You can pulse this in the food processor to chop the nuts a little finer if so desired.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.    Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.   Beat in the zest and almond flavoring.

In another bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the flour mixture and the orange juice alternately mixing after each addition just until well combined. 

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel.  Pour the other half of the cake batter over streusel layer and top with the rest of the streusel.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.   A pick inserted in the center should come out clean.  Remove and allow to cool in the pan.  

While the cake cools, prepare the glaze by mixing the confectioner's sugar with just enough orange juice to make a glaze you can drizzle over the cake. 

Turn the cake out onto a cake plate and drizzle with glaze.  This is great with a good cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk!