Friday, August 12, 2011

Lemon Blueberry Cake and Birthdays

This weekend would have been my late Mom's birthday.  I always made a Lemon Blueberry Cake for her birthday. I made a lemon cake mix, Duncan Hines was my choice, fold in a pint of blueberries, and top with Cool Whip. I didn't toss the blueberries with flour, because when they sank to the the bottom they created a thin layer of blueberry lusciousness.  She loved it and so did the rest of the family. I wanted to make a lemon cake from scratch, have the blueberries sink to the bottom, and top with whipped cream, That's exactly what I did, except I made a mini three layer cake, with whipped cream in between You also have enough batter for 12 cupcakes to share with someone. My Mom gave me my love of baking, when I would  help her bake cookies, pies, and cakes. Thank you Mom for that gift.

When I first started blogging, one of my first blogging friends was Gina@SP Cookie Queen. She had always there to support me and answer questions, and is dear friend.  When I found out that her birthday is the same day as my late Mom's, August 14th, she was even more endearing to me. Sorry Gina, I didn't bake a pretzel for you, but I baked this lovely cake.( Refer to Gina's post about the pretzel comment.) Happy Birthday Gina, my Dear Friend!
You can see the blueberry layer on the bottom of the cupcake.

Here is the recipe.  With this recipe you get three little cakes, and 12 cupcakes
Adapted from Forgiving Martha


Lemon Blueberry Cake with Whipped Cream
¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided
¾ cup cake flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature
1 1/2  cup fresh blueberries

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 mini cake pans.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners; Set aside. 
1.      In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, the cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. 
2.      In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 
3.      Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. 
4.      With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. 
5.      Blend in the milk. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.
6.       Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter. 
7.      Divide batter into 3 mini cake pans and bake 20-25 min. cool on rack 10 min., remove from pan.  Cool Top with whipped cream.
8.       Divide the rest of the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full. 
9.      Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
10. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting for Cupcakes
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
 2cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon

 To make the frosting, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the lemon and zest and mix until incorporated. Slowly add confectioner's sugar until the desired consistency is reached.  Top on cooled cupcakes and serve!



18 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this beautiful cake Becky, you made me cry. I'm honored to share my birthday with your Mom, if I ever make it out your way, your house will be my first stop. I like this better than a pretzel. Hope you have a great weekend.
    -Gina-

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  2. Gina- I'm glad that you like the cake better than a pretzel. Have A Great Birthday. You can come to my house anytime!

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  3. Oh, what a beautiful summer cake! It looks so yummy, Becky~and such a great tribute to your mom.

    PS...I haven't gotten around to baking my pretzels, either!

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  4. Lizzy- Thank you for your kind words. I baked the cake for Gina, too for her birthday.

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  5. I love this cake! The sunken blueberry layer is probably my favorite part. Perfect for summer and for birthdays :)

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  6. Lauren,This is the perfect summer cake!

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  7. Love this recipe...and the meaning behind it. It's amazing how food is such a part of our memories, especially for us foodies! I loved my great gramma and miss her, but we make her homemade bread to remember her and honor her memory. I need to make this cake, because blueberry and lemon is one of my favorite flavor pairs!!

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  8. Such a lovely treat to celebrate a birthday!

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  9. Hi Becky and Happy Birthday to your mom.... I am sure she is smiling on you today for baking this treat in remembrance of her! and this just looks delicious, especially since blueberries are so good right now! Have a great week!
    Megan

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  10. P.S.... I am going to totally make this cake and cite you as my inspiration! I am going to use my grandmothers cake recipe and change it up a bit... but this recipe is so inspiring!

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  11. Wendy-You are so right about food and memories. Warm fuzzy memories are always tied to food somewhow.

    Natasha-This cake is treat to make, especially now that blueberries are in season.

    Megan-That's so sweet of you. I am always changing recipes. Drives my husband crazy, because he has to follow the recipe exactly

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  12. Becky-Such a beautiful tribut to your late mom and her favorite lemon-blueberry cake. I love how you made it with cake flour mixed with all-purp flour, and also the three layers. Love the recip, and will copy and print it!
    So sweet of you to honor Gina too for her birthday! Will click over to her blog too.

    Becky, I am tagging you for the 7 Links, please visit my blog, and check it out. I would love to see a line up of your amazing recipes!
    xoxo

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  13. Elisabeth- Thanks for your sweet words. Lemon and blueberry are so good together.

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  14. Sweet Becky...what a wonderful tribute to your mom. I know she is smiling down at you now. And of course, I love Gina too. Thank you for sharing your words and pictures, my friend. I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow. I'm enjoying your post with a big bowl of watermelon. Just perfect. Much love and many blessings from Austin!

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  15. Becky, what a touching post this is. Your mother passed on to you a great gift, one that we all get to enjoy through this blog. And you know what, I agree wholeheartedly with Gina, your beautiful cake is better than all our pretzels put together!

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  16. Maya, Thank you for your sweet words. a love of baking is a gift. Your pretzel was a work of art, something that I couldn't replicate.

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  17. Becky this cake is a wonderful way to celebrate your mom & a good friend like Gina :) It looks beautiful & perfect summer flavors!

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  18. Monet-Thank for your love from Austin. I hope that the watermelon is keeping you cool:)

    Meghan, Thank you for your kind words. The cake
    is delicious.

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