White Chocolate Layer Cake with Blueberry Curd Filling

Okay I'm slacking, I'm sorry.  Normally I write these posts in advance and schedule them to go live in the mornings but when I got into work today I realized that not only did I not schedule this post but I hadn't even written it yet!  Yikes!  I guess that's what happens when you're busily trying to can 21 pounds of tomatoes or buy 1/16th of a cow (more on both of those at a later date).

So here we are, the grand finale of Emily and my Summer Seasonal Fruits and Veggies Extravaganza.  So far we've already shared the following:

• Watermelon Slush - TOTALLY refreshing and only about 80 calories per serving!
• BLT Corn Salad Wrap - Fresh and crisp take on an old classic.
• Cherry BBQ Pulled Pork Grilled Pizza - Bursting with all the delicious flavors of summer but I just wished the cherry flavor was more pronounced than it was.
• Black Raspberry Frozen Yogurt - Another healthy treat! If you use fat free yogurt like we did, the only fat comes from the black raspberries...which...who knew those had fat??

And now, without further delay than I've already caused today, here's the final course, a layer cake filled with  vibrant blueberry curd!

For those of you that follow me on facebook or twitter you probably saw me post something a few weeks ago when this was all happening about my little butter mishap.  Somehow I had completely managed to misread the instructions and put just 1/2 stick of butter in the frosting instead of 1/2 POUND.  Yep...that's only 1/4 of what was necessary and would totally explain why the texture of my frosting was marshmallow fluffy and a bit weird.  All in all, it didn't affect the overall flavor of the cake but apologize for the presentation since the frosting was a shapeless goop!

Flavorwise, this was really good.  I loved the flavor of the blueberry curd, especially.  And the petite 6" cake size was the perfect way to end our Extravaganza evening!  Looking at the directions is daunting (and I'm sure you can see how I easily misread the butter content!) but no step is particularly difficult.

I hope you enjoyed this series (also check out our last one on Apples!).  Emily and I really look forward to doing them so if you have suggestions for themes or even recipes you'd like to see made in the future, please let us know.  She might be quite busy soon with the pending arrival of twins and all but we'll do our best!  After all, a girl has still got to eat!

PS: Last day to enter the Beer Flats giveaway!  Ends tonight.  Commenting takes just a few seconds and your chances to win are just 1 (or more if you do additional entries)  in 14 right now!

White Chocolate Layer Cake with Blueberry Curd Filling

Photo Credit: Emily H.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 4 oz white baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp milk

For the Swiss meringue buttercream

• 2 oz egg whites (1-2 large egg whites or about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 lb unsalted butter, room temperature (see, it DOES say pound, NOT stick...oops!)
• 2 tsp lemon extract, almond extract, orange extract, or vanilla extract

For the Blueberry curd

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

For decorating

• Swiss meringue buttercream
• 1 cup blueberry curd
• 2 oz white chocolate shavings/curls for garnish
• Blueberries for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease and lightly flour two 6-inch round cake pans.  Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper.
2. In a medium saucepan, cook and stir the white chocolate over low heat until melted.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter with mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add the sugar, beating until combined.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until just combined.  Beat in melted white chocolate just until combined.
5. Spread batter into the prepared cake pans.  Bake 30 minutes of until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.  Meanwhile, prepare the blueberry curd and buttercream.  Cool the cake layers in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove layers from pans and peel off parchment paper.  Cool completely on the wire racks.

To Make the Blueberry Curd

1. Put blueberries and water in saucepan and cook over low heat until blueberries are very soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and put the resulting liquid back into the saucepan off of the heat.  Stir everything together and cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes.  The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

To Make the Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. Lightly whisk egg whites and sugar together over simmering water until egg white mixture is hot to touch or candy thermometer reads 140F (60C)
2. Pour hot whites into a room temperature bowl and whip with whisk attachment of electric mixer on medium-high speed until double in volume.  The meringue should not move around in the bowl.  Meanwhile, cut up butter into 2-inch pieces.  (The butter should be slightly moist on the outside but cold inside.)
3. Attach the paddle attachment to your mixer.  Add half the butter into the bowl and pulse the mixer until the meringue has covered the butter completely, forcing the butter to the bottom of the bowl.  Add the remaining butter and pulse several more times.  Slowly increase the mixer's speed, starting with the lowest speed and continuing to increase the speed every 10 seconds until you read medium-high speed.
4. Continue to beat until the mixture looks light and fluffy.  Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flavoring and continue to beat on low speed for 45 seconds.  Then beat on medium-high speed for an additional 45-60 seconds.

To Assemble the Cake

1. Use a long serrated knife to cut each layer in half horizontally.  Place one layer, cut side up, on a serving plate.
2. Spread 1/3 of the filling on the first layer.  Top with second layer; spread with 1/3 of the filling.  Top with the third layer and spread with the remaining filling (reserve a couple tablespoons if you want a swirl on top like I did).  Top with the fourth layer, cut side down.
3. Frost cake with buttercream and decorate with chocolate shaving and blueberries.  To create a swirl as I did, put reserved dallop of blueberry curd on frosting and use a knife to swirl.

Source: As seen on Beantown Baker as components are originally from - Cake from Better Homes and Gardens, Blueberry Curd from Fake Ginger, Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Epicurious

Chicken, Blueberry, and Summer Squash Salad

I'll admit I was skeptical about this one at first BUT it had all the right ingredients to use up a good part of my CSA share (big ol bag of salad greens!) and I've had great luck with Kelsey's recipes.  I trusted her and it paid out.

This salad has a symphony of flavors.  A tart, slightly sweet and light dressing that contrasts with fresh pops of blueberry along with the salt and cream of feta.  It just works!  I decided to add one more player to this harmonious dish because I had a small lonely red onion in my cabinet, too.  Caramelized onions.  They make the world go round.  The other change I made was because I just am not a fan of raw squash.  So, I lightly sauteed it before putting it on my salad.

I get it, October is officially Fall and it's pretty dang cold out but I'm hoping that you'll be able to try this one out with the last of your Summer veggies (or *gasp* buy in store off-season) or if not, bookmark it to make next year.  Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this one!

Two Years Ago: Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip


Chicken, Blueberry, and Summer Squash Salad

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:

• 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. honey (I added a little more because I prefer a more sweet dressing)
• 1/4-1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil 
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad:

• 4 packed c. preferred greens
• 3 tsp. butter or margarine, divided
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small summer squash, thinly sliced
• 2 TBSP fresh basil, cut chiffonade
• 2 c. cooked chicken breast, chopped
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. To make dressing, add lemon, honey, and olive oil to a small container with a lid.  Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously until well mixed.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Taste and adjust blend until desired amount of sweetness (add honey) or tartness (add lemon) is achieved.  Put container into the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a large skillet, melt 2 tsp butter or margarine then add onion.  Cook until onions begin to caramelize and brown slightly.  Remove and set aside.  In the same skillet, melt remaining 1 tsp butter or margarine then saute squash until lightly cooked.  It will start to look translucent.  Remove and set aside the squash.
3. To assemble salad, divide greens among four plates.  Top with squash, caramelized onions, basil, and chicken.  Drizzle dressing over the top, then add blueberries and feta. 

Source: Slightly modified from Apple a Day

Summer Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

I have a cousin that is OBSESSED with Panera.  I'm talking every time she is in a city that has one it is on her "to do" list.  Sure it's a chain but who can blame her?  They do have really delicious food and chains provide great consistency no matter where you go.

This recipe is being dusted off from the archives.  It sat in the deep dark recesses of that black box that is my husband's computer hard drive for over a year before seeing the light of day again right here, right now.  You see, this time last year I was making lots of food but was lazy about blogging.  And then by the time I got time to blog, it just didn't worth doing so because the season had already changed.

Ah seasons.  This salad TOTALLY captures the spring/summer season.  It embodies all that is good about the bountiful seasonal fruits and veggies.  It is also inspired by my cousin's favorite restaurant, Panera.  Please go make this salad today.  It's a beautiful display of color bursting with natural sweetness and filled with nutrition!

Two Years Ago: Pasta Salad - This one ALWAYS gets gobbled up when I bring it to a party!

Summer Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

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Ingredients

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. minced shallot
• ¼ tsp. dry mustard
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. light mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
• 6 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1½ tsp. poppy seeds

For the salad:

• Romaine lettuce, washed and dried
• Strawberries, hulled and sliced
• Blueberries
• Mandarin orange segments
• Fresh pineapple, cubed

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the vinegar, sugar, shallot, dry mustard, salt, mayonnaise and orange juice.  Process to blend well.  With the feed tube open and the processor on, add the vegetable oil in a steady stream and continue processing until incorporated.  Add the poppy seeds and pulse briefly just until blended.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. To make the salad, chop the lettuce into bite-size pieces.  Plate individual servings of the lettuce in salad plates.  Top each serving with strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges and pineapple cubes as desired.  Drizzle lightly with the poppy seed dressing and serve immediately.

Source: Salad from Annie's Eats; Dressing from Jamie Cooks It Up

Blueberry Almond Cake with Lemon Drizzle

This cake is the epitome of summer.  Blueberries, lemon, and almonds?  Oh and let's not forget to mention that this cake even has a hidden layer of cheesecake goodness inside and not called out in the name.  It's like a secret weapon.  But with all these deliciously fresh flavors, what more can you really ask for?

I made this cake to bring up to my husband's mini-family reunion earlier this month.  It was well received but in my personal opinon a bit too lemony.  I guess that's what you get when you just squeeze in a whole big juicy lemon without regard for the size and how much juice is contained versus actually measuring it.  Whoops!  Note to self, not all lemons are created equal and baking really is a science, not an art.

Speaking of lemons, for whatever reason, my lemond just DID NOT want to zest.  Maybe it's the fact that I don't own a microplane (sad face!) so I use the fine side of my grater.  It probably also doesn't help that said grater is also beginning to break.  Yeah, time to invest in that microplane.

I also kind of read the instructions wrong and accidentally mixed the blueberries into the cream cheese mixture instead of scattering them on top.  Thankfully I had just a few extra berries to scatter on top after I realized my mistake.  Same taste but I think it caused me to need to bake it longer before the cheesecake part set and didn't quite look as pretty as it really should have.  (Check out Beantown Baker's post on this recipe...hers looks so great!)

I think I'll leave this post relatively simple and sweet.  The picture kind of speaks for itself.  Delicious.

One Year Ago: Here's a few of them since I've sucked so bad at blogging lately!  Then again, as I look at the history August must be historically bad for me since there actually is only ONE recipe posted last August, too!  Honey Lime Grilled Chicken, Chicken Lo Mein, and Grands! Taco Melts (AKA Homemade Hot Pockets)

Blueberry Almond Cake with Lemon Drizzle
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Yields: 1 9-inch cake with 12 Servings

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• A pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Topping

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Glaze

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch round cake or spring form pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup brown sugar and beat for approximately one minute until light and well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for approximately two minutes after each addition. Alternately, add one-half of the flour mixture and one-half of the yogurt, beating briefly on low after each addition. Repeat. Stir in the lemon juice and almond extract. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, 1 egg, and the lemon zest for approximately two minutes until very smooth and creamy. Spoon this cheese mixture over the cake batter and spread, leaving a one-inch margin of cake batter exposed around the perimeter of the cake. Sprinkle the blueberries over the cream cheese mixture and the sliced almonds around the perimeter of the cake.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake to room temperature and serve.
6. For the glaze, whisk together the lemon juice with the powdered sugar and drizzle the mixture over the top of the cake.

Source: Originally from Modern Comfort Food as adapted by and seen on Beantown Baker

Orange Berry Muffins

Hi again.  Sorry I've been so sporadic in posting.  Toby keeps me very busy and even though I wake up at like 6AM daily now because of him I've been spending my extra hours cooking and uploading vacation photos rather than blogging.  There are so many great things I still need to blog about but I've been struggling to sit down and make myself write...err...type. 

Posting recipes is surprisingly a lot of work!  There's witty commentary to be made, photo editing, finding the recipe again months after you made the dish (I was about to give up on finding this one again!), recipe copy/pasting/modifying, and then making a printer-friendly link (another project left unfinished...I was supposed to back convert older recipes and am probably only halfway through.  Mental note to self to finish that up...).  Now add to the mix a dog that you have to watch to make sure he's behaving and you've got yourself some blogging difficulty.  It's a wonder I can even *cook* anymore.  But, I wouldn't trade my beagle Toby for the world.  He's awesome and so loving!

Back to the story on this recipe.  I made this one wayyyy back on EASTER WEEKEND!  Whoa that's a long time ago.  I had made these to eat as a snack in the car and for quick and inexpensive breakfasts while we were spending time with our friends Sig and Kristen on a couples road trip to Washington DC to see the Cherry Blossoms.  They were beautiful albeit I had expected it to be more enchanting.  Guess that's what happens when you go in peak season.  I was so mad when I saw people picking the blossoms and/or whole branches off the trees.  Way to ruin it for everyone!  The city itself was soooo much more awesome than I remember.  The last time I had gone was probably elementary school.  I definitely would like to visit again someday.  We *almost* saw President Obama on the way to Easter Sunday service but got tired of waiting for (at the time) what we thought might actually be nothing.

I'd have to say that Sig and Chris probably had more than their fair share of these muffins.  And I can't blame them.  They're TASTY!  The orange zest (use organic oranges to avoid the pesticides!) gives it a great morning wake-up zing while the berries burst with flavor.  The zest also smelled so fragrant and citrusy when I was rubbing it in the sugar...I'll admit I kind of wanted to stop right there and just eat the orange flavored sugar haha!  They are relatively healthy because I substituted some whole wheat flour for the white and there's relatively little sugar for a sweet bread type recipe.  I must have added strawberries to my muffins because I had some leftover.  The original recipe was just for blueberries but why not do a berry mix for some gorgeous color :).  I definitely plan on making this one again.  Especially with berries being in season now.  Yum!

One Year Ago: Exquisite Pizza Sauce

Orange Berry Muffins
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Yields: 12 Muffins

Ingredients

• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• About ¾ cup lowfat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ⅓ cup (2.33 ounces) sugar
• 2 cups (9.6 ounces) all-purpose flour (I substituted 1 cup whole wheat flour for the same amount of all-purpose white flour)
• 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries and/or strawberries – fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)
• Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the pan with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups.
2. Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.
3. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the berries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
4. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Source: Slightly modified from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my Home to Yours, as seen on The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Blueberry Citrus Cake

Happy (Belated) First Birthday Blog!  And, Happy Birthday to my Mother-in-Law Mary Lynn!

In a way, this is a faux birthday for the blog because I didn't actually start this public blog until the Fall of 2009.  However, it's been a year since I first started sharing recipes with my friends and family on our personal website, the Chronicles of the Chrises and those recipes were loaded with backdates this this website.  Back when I started blogging recipes, it was just a way for me to share family recipes and things that I was cooking with those that were close to us.  Back then, I didn't know about food blogging ettiquite but I now know and make an effort to take my own photos.  Eventually I thought why not start a public blog and this blog was born with a name to mirror our other more life-centric website. 

I also can't believe the improvement to my skills that's happened through the past year or so.  Honestly, I used to be kind of the black sheep of my extended family because I NEVER cooked and came from a family of cooks/restaurant owners.  Cooking became a necessity when I was living on my own in college.  It was learn to make food to eat or eat out...which on a poor college student's budget isn't so friendly on the pocket books.  I started by committing myself to trying at least 1 new recipe a week.  After I got married about 2 years ago, the domestic bug must have bit because then I started cooking even more.  I wanted to be a good wife and have dinner on the table for my husband by the time he got home from work!  And most recently, we bought a house last Fall and we gutted our entire kitchen on the same day that we closed.  We remodeled and put in a beautiful gourmet kitchen and I'm so glad that we did because nearly all my free time is spent in the kitchen trying new recipes now.  Hey, gotta get our money worth, right? :)

What I'm not new to is the concept of social media and blogging.  I grew up with the Internet (Prodigy shout out!) and chat rooms (Microsoft Comic Chat woot!).  I had to take a mandatory typing class in Junior High and because I'd been typing since I was like 6 I came into the class typing faster and more accurately than the teacher.  (Unfortunately, they made me take the class anyway...waste of time!).  I have had a personal blog since at least 2001...maybe even 2000 (I'd have to go back and see).  I distinctly remember writing about September 11th in it and was so proud that I've kept posting to it through all these years.  (I think I have to go and get my 2010 post in there!)

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the recipes that I share with you.  This particular one is deliciously light and refreshing.  I made it for Mary Lynn's birthday and we all really enjoyed it.  I will be making this one again!  Since I started making a lot of things from scratch I've generally started turning my nose up to boxed mixes but this recipe just uses the boxed mix as a base and then adds all these delicious goodies like zested lemon and oranges, blueberries, and a homemade frosting.  In my eyes, this still makes it homemade!

I'm sorry but my sucky photo taking skills don't do this cake justice at all and you must try it!  And/or go to the Better Home and Gardens site where I found the recipe to see a prettier professional picture.  It's the perfect cake for Spring and Summer!

One Year Ago: Crockpot Turkey and Cakeballs

Blueberry Citrus Cake
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Prep Time: 30 min
Bake Time: 35 min
Cool Time: 2 hours
Yields:  12 Servings

Ingredients
 
For the Cake

• 1 package 2-layer-size lemon cake mix
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 tablespoon zested orange peel (from approximately 1/2 large orange)
• 1 tablespoon zested lemon peel (from approximately 1 medium lemon)

For the Citrus Frosting

• 1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons zested orange peel (from approximately 1 large orange)
• 1 tablespoon zested lemon peel (from approximately 1 medium lemon)

Directions

To Prepare Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degees F. Grease two 8 inch or 9 inch round baking pans; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, orange juice, water, oil, and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; beat for 2 minutes. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula gently fold in blueberries, orange peel, and lemon peel. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes (9 inch pans) or 35-40 minutes (8 inch pans) or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
4. Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks. While cake is cooling, prepare Citrus frosting using the directions below.
5. Frost cooled cake with Citrus Frosting. Garnish with orange peel curls, if desired. Store frosted cake in the refrigerator.

To Prepare Citrus Frosting

1. In a medium bowl beat together softened cream cheese and softened butter until fluffy.  Add sifted powdered sugar and orange juice. Beat until combined.
2. In a small bowl beat whipping cream to soft peaks; add to cream cheese mixture.
3. Add zested orange peel and zested lemon peel. Beat on low until combined.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Berry Buttermilk Cake

Are you wondering what to do with leftover buttermilk?  Well, as this is apparently a common question, I've now added a "buttermilk" tag to my blog and will be featuring a few different recipes in the upcoming days as additional ideas.  Surprisingly, I already had a good 6-7 recipes using buttermilk before this series of recipes but I generally used the trick of taking regular milk and adding a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to make it sour and curdle a little.  That's all fine and dandy but it really isn't the same as using REAL buttermilk.  And I had a giant half-gallon jug of it to use!  So come explore some recipes with me, my friends...

This. Recipe. Is. Awesome. 

Even better is that it is really really simple.  I whipped it up and was in and out of the kitchen in well under an hour INCLUDING baking and cleaning time.  It's a very light cake with a delicate crumb and the slight crunch of the sugar on top adds a nice contrast to each bite.  It's light enough to be enjoyed as a breakfast yet satisfying enough to serve as your dessert, too.  Chris' family ate it right up and we enjoyed it so much that I made it again that same week.  Now, I don't know if you've noticed or not but I tend to try a bazillion new recipes so anything that gets made multiple times is a keeper in my eyes!  (I'm sorry, the photo really doesn't do this cake justice!)

The original recipe was called Raspberry Buttermilk Cake but I didn't have any raspberries, I only had frozen blueberries (which were leftover from our Belgian Waffle Bar from Dinner Club...I still need to post those recipes...d'oh!).  Thankfully this recipe is very forgiving and you can use whatever the heck berry you want and I found frozen works just fine in this case.

So if you want a lightly sweet treat tonight that's relatively healthy (less than 200 calories a slice = 1/8th of the cake!), make this one.  You won't be sorry!

Berry Buttermilk Cake
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Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup plus 1.5 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup well-shaken lowfat buttermilk
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz.), blackberries, blueberries, and/or strawberries*

*Note: If using frozen berries, add the berries to the batter frozen.
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400, with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 9″ cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and 2/3 cup sugar at medium-high until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, and then egg.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the buttermilk.  At low speed, mix until just combined.
3. Pour batter into a cake pan and smooth the top using a rubber spatula. Scatter berries on top and sprinkle remaining 1.5Tbsp. sugar.
4. Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan 10 minutes and then turn onto a rack and cool to warm, 10-15 minutes.
5. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired :).  (Sorry that will put you over the 200 calorie per serving mark...but it would taste so delicious!)

Source: Slightly adapted from Gourmet as seen on Elly Says Opa!

Nutritional Information for 1/8 of the cake: Calories: 196 / Fat: 6.7g / Saturated Fat: 3.9g / Carbs: 31.5 / Fiber: 1.5g / Protein: 3.1g