Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

In 1999 I visited Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington.  It was a good year to go as it was the 200th anniversary of his death and the docents had set up special tours to commemorate President Washington's accomplishments.  There was also a "funeral" tour where we read passages of news articles and accounts of the nation's shock when his death was announced.  I felt like I was there in the moment, and was genuinely moved and saddened.  

While there I also purchased The Mount Vernon Cookbook, which is a collection of recipes from the members of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.  All the proceeds from the sale went to restoration and preservation of the estate and gardens.  Well worth it!

This is a ladies' group cookbook, and I love them because the women who contribute send over their best recipes.  There are reputations to maintain!  

I was perusing the book the other day and came across this recipe for a blueberry cake.  My notes said I had made it in July of 2001, and I had added, "This is incredible.  Wonderful.  Wow."  My thought was that it had been much too long since I had made it!  It needed to be documented in my blog.

It is in the dessert section, but to me, blueberry cake just shouts that it is a coffee cake and could be served as part of a brunch.  Don't tell my guest taster that I served cake for breakfast!  

Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

2 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Sugar to sprinkle on batter

Beat egg whites until stiff, adding about 1/4 cup of the sugar called for in the receipt.  Set aside.  Cream margarine; add salt and vanilla.  Add remaining sugar gradually.  Add unbeaten egg yolks and beat until mixture is light and creamy.  Sift 1 1/4 cups of flour and baking powder together.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with the milk.  Fold in beaten egg whites.  Fold in fresh blueberries, which have been gently shaken in 1/4 cup flour so they won't settle.  Turn into greased 8-inch pan.  Sprinkle granulated sugar on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.

My Notes

Start preheating the oven.  Choose your pan -- I used a rectangular pan instead of an 8-inch round.  It was glass, so I lowered the temperature to 325 degrees.

This recipe used a lot of bowls!  At least the way I mixed it; I had to do some planning.  

Also, note that the sugar is divided into 1/4 cup and 3/4 cups, and the flour is divided into 1 1/4 cups and 1/4 cups.  

I chose to use butter instead of margarine.

My notes from 2001 suggested putting a "good layer" of sugar on top of the batter.  I had a vague recollection that it formed a crust that was tasty.

I used the mixer to beat the egg whites.  All the rest of the mixing I did by hand.  The pictures show the sequencing as I worked my way through the steps.  The captions help you see the connections.

Bowl #1:  Whipped egg whites with the sugar.

Bowl #2:  Creamed butter with salt and vanilla.

Creamed butter mixture with the yolks mixed in.  (Bowl #3 held the yolks)

Now the flour and milk have been added.  (Bowl #4 held the sifted flour and baking powder)

The whipped egg whites have been folded in.

Bowl #5:  I love how flour acts as little anchors on the blueberries!

Blueberries have been folded in.  I did not add the excess dusting flour.

Gently spread in the pan.

This looks like a good layer.

It went into the oven for 50 minutes.  I checked it at 40 minutes and it was browning but didn't look cooked enough.  At 50 minutes, it was golden brown and a pick inserted into the middle came out clean.  I let it cool about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

The Verdict

Beautiful to put on the table for serving!

I called it "coffee cake" and served it with fried eggs, coffee, and juice.  

The blueberries were marvelous:  giant, flavorful, and juicy.  They cooked up beautifully.  They made each bite luscious.  

The cake itself was truly melt in your mouth:  delicate, moist, lightly sweet, with a soft vanilla scent.  It was strong enough to support the berries, and tender enough to be a joy to eat.  The sugar crust was good and added a bit of crunch to whole experience.

My guest taster declared that he was considering adding "gluttony" as a new hobby!  

Yes, it was that good.  We managed to restrain ourselves and not eat the whole thing.  We are looking forward to having it again for breakfast.  

I recommend it highly.  Try it!  Plan your bowls and decide if you want to use a mixer for the batter after using it for the whites.  

You can serve this as a dessert, too!  I think it would be a surprising flavor to give to guests.  Not everyone expects blueberry cake for dessert.

I also think it would be good with raspberries or blackberries or cherries.  If you try them, drop me a note!

Success, again!  Good to know it worked then and now, nearly 20 years later.

P.S.

I have written of two other recipes from this book:

Easy Spoon Bread

Sweet Potato-Apple Souffle