I’m wrapping up #CookOutWeek with dessert! I mean you can’t go to a picnic without a little sweet treat to end the day. This blueberry yogurt cake was packed full of blueberries with a hint of lemon in a rich cake. We all loved it and it was eaten way too quickly! I will definitely be making this cake again this summer. The only change I’ll make is to make the glaze a little bit thicker.
What’s your favorite way to end a picnic dessert? Cake, brownies, smores or ice cream?
My kids have been asking for me to bake a cake and this is one that I’ll definitely be making them again. It’s not too sweet and is super moist. The only berries I had on hand were blueberries, but I can’t wait to make it again when strawberries are in season. I’m thinking it will be great with a little whipped cream – almost like a strawberry shortcake. I was able to use the last bit of ricotta cheese I had in my fridge from another recipe. I’m really trying to be better about using up every little bit of food and not being so wasteful. If you have any tips, I’ll take them!
I’m so happy to be back to the monthly Fill the Cookie Jar group. Things have been a little crazy around our house. I’ve been working on some big projects, my husband has been traveling more often and Madeline started lacrosse again. Practices started up for her last month and we’ve been running from her Girls on the Run practice, with a quick stop at home to grab some food and then she’s off to lacrosse practice. I’ve been enjoying the hour to walk the track and clear my head. Needless to say, that hasn’t left much time to spend cooking and baking.
I was searching for the right recipe this month for something different, when I stumbled across this recipe for scones. I haven’t made scones in a while and I liked these because they had ricotta – a unique spin on the traditional scone. They were so good. The perfect consistency and I loved the weren’t too sweet, perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea.
I’m always in the search for recipes where I can use leftover ingredients from other recipes. This bread was one of them. I had leftover ricotta from the breakfast casserole I made and needed to use it up before it went bad. I found this recipe and it was ideal since I had a random lemon in the fridge too. We picked blueberries earlier this summer, so they’re my go to fruit for bread or muffins.
The bread came together quickly and it was delicious. It’s not an over sweet bread, so it was perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or an after dinner snack.
1 3/4 cup whole wheat white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup blueberries
Zest of one lemon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and eggs. Add in the butter and mix until combined. Stir in the ricotta cheese, vanilla, buttermilk and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely until ready to slice and serve.
Source: Hungry Couple NYC
My family can’t get enough of peaches and blueberries this year. The peaches are so good! We had a family picnic earlier this month (yes, I’m just getting around to blogging about it) and I made this delicious trifle. I wanted something that was easy to transport since we had to drive from PA to NJ to the picnic. There’s no cooking involved and after you cut the fruit and cake, it comes together quickly.
It was a big hit! There was only a small bowl left after everyone had enjoyed dessert. I’ll definitely be making it again and switch out types of fruit depending on what is in season. I’m thinking it would be delicious with cinnamon baked apples.
1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 premade angel food cake
2 blocks lowfat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
2 cups heavy whipping cream, room temperature
3 cups blueberries
3 cups peaches, peeled and cubed (or sliced, whichever you prefer)
In a small saucepan, add the lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water and heat over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and then remove from heat. Add in the vanilla extract and allow to cool.
Cut the cake into 1 inch slices and generously brush each side of the cake with the simple syrup mixture. Cut each cake slice into 1 inch cubes.
In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and 2/3 cup of sugar on medium speed until it is smooth. Slowly add in the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth. It should be the consistency of whipped cream.
To assemble the trifle, place 1/3 of the cake cubes on the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of blueberries, about a cup and top with a 1/3 of the cream. Spread the cream out evenly to the edges of the bowl. Top with 1/3 of the peaches and then add another layer of cake cubes. If you had leftover simple syrup, drizzle half of it over the cake cubes.
Repeat the process. Add a layer of blueberries, a layer of cream, layer of peaches and then top with the remaining cake cubes. Drizzle the remaining simple syrup over this layer. Finally top the cake with the last of the cream and the berries and peaches on top.
Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This will allow the cream time to thicken. When you’re ready to serve, scoop out the trifle with a spoon into small (or large) dishes. Enjoy!
Source: Practically Functional
After picking our gallons of blueberries a couple weeks ago, I wanted to make blueberry preserves. I have done a little bit of canning over the years, but I still don’t think I’ve mastered it. I started looking for recipes for small batches and without pectin since it’s not something I have on hand. I came across this recipe and it was perfect! I love that you use honey as a sweetener and only needed a pint of blueberries. The perfect recipe to experiment with!
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup local honey
1 1/3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
In a heavy saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. If you want the preserves thinner and more like a compote, remove from heat now and allow to cool. If you want thicker preserves, like the consistency of jam, continue simmering for another 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally throughout the entire cooking process. Allow to cool slightly and then transfer to glass jars. This recipe made 1 1/2 pints of preserves. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
It’s great on toast and stirred into yogurt. I bet it would be a good swirl in vanilla ice cream….maybe my next experiment! Enjoy!
Source: Crafts a la Mode
I’m a little behind getting my posts up about blueberries. It’s been another crazy busy week and I think it might get only worse in a few weeks. In addition to working full-time, my Rodan+Fields business, this blog, my family, I’ll be starting to coach cheerleading. I know, I might be crazy, but our family seems to function between when we’re busy and have things to do. I’m finding this summer, we’re just lounging around the house and not really getting anything accomplished. Though it’s nice to have some down time, we’re getting in a rut and need to start doing things again.
Anyways, here’s a quick and easy cake recipe to make! I loved that it wasn’t overly sweet and could be eaten for breakfast or a snack. I swapped out the flour for white whole wheat flour and it worked perfectly. I think I might mix the blueberries into the batter before putting in the pan since I was hoping they would sink into the batter more and not be right on top…you know so every bite was packed with fruit.
1 cup white whole wheat flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease and lightly flour a 9 inch round cake pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer beat the softened butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until well combined and light in color. Reduce the speed to low and add in half of the flour and yogurt and mix. Add in the remaining ½ cup of flour and mix until just combined.
Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and lay the blueberries evenly over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool and then transfer to a serving plate. You can sprinkle the top with powdered sugar right before serving or make a glaze to top it.
Source: Julia’s Album
Is this summer flying by for anyone else? I can’t believe its only two weeks until my daughter goes back to school, but she’s ready to start second grade! I’m ready too!
Over the weekend, we went to our friend’s house to hang out with some of our friends from college. It was great to back in that area and catch up with everyone. My husband volunteered me to make a dessert to bring and I knew immediately I wanted to make a trifle. They’re great for parties because they make a lot and I wanted to use my trifle bowl. I searched around for different trifle recipes and then I saw this one from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe! I had all the ingredients except for angel food cake. Win in my book!
It turned out really good and was a hit at the picnic! We had about half of it left over, so it was still good for a couple more days. It dried out a little, but I just poured a little milk on it was just as good as the first day.
