Blueberry Bakes & Desserts

 

 

I like to pride myself on being totally honest with you my readers. I hope that you appreciate that. I know that I always appreciate honesty. Especially in cooking.  When I go to a recipe page, and decide to make one of their recipes I trust that what they are sharing works and tests out well.

I am a pretty competent baker. I started working as a pastry chef back when I was 19 years old.  I worked at a very high class hotel here in the Valley.  Then of course I really honed my skills baking for my family over the years and finally went to college in the year 2000.

I pretty much know what I am doing when it comes to cooking and baking. I only ever very seldom have a failure. In fact I would consider it very rare.  Today I had a failure.  A total flop.

I picked out a recipe on Flourist to bake.  A White Chocolate Blueberry Cake. I had really high hopes.  The photograph looked delicious. 

 I confess that I did get derailed after I had mixed all the dry ingredients together, but I hadn't yet mixed the wet. I set it all aside and went to clean the chapel, which I had totally forgotten about! Today was my teams turn.

I finished putting the cake together when I got home. There is no reason that my brief interlude at the chapel should have had any impact on the cake. The real chemistry had not begun when I left.

I did everything right. What I ended up with was a rubbery, overly sweet loaf cake in which all of the blueberries (and I suspect the white chocolate chips) ended up at the bottom of the cake.  It would be forgivable if the cake itself had any flavor or redeemable factors, but it simply does not.

This cake is headed for the bin.  I hate it when that happens. When I waste really good and expensive ingredients on a cake that turns out bin-able.  Sometimes when something like that happens you can blame it on the cook's error.  I am afraid this is not the case today.  And I don't say that to sound conceited.

The only thing I might have done differently in hindsight is to fold some of the flour into the berries.  This might have prevented them from sinking. But it could not have redeemed this cake.  Far too much sugar for one thing. Combined with the sweetness of white chocolate chips and that sickly glaze, this cake was a losing proposition. In fact it was a tragedy.

So, I have nothing new to share with you today. Instead I have decided to share with you some blueberry recipes that are delicious and that I can highly recommend! I hope you will forgive me. 

Dutch Baby with Blueberries & Lime -  I love Dutch baby pancakes. Light and puffy, golden brown. They make the perfect canvas for many fillings, both savory and sweet. This particular version is delicious with sweet/tart fresh berries, lime zested brown sugar, dollops of sour cream and freshly squeezed lime juice. Oh so tasty!

LEMON SANDWICHES WITH BLUEBERRIES & CREAM - This simple dessert is just the ticket to brighten anyone's day! Thick slices of a moist and delicious lemon cake are topped with a rich yogurt cream and a sweet fresh blueberry sauce. Its very similar to a strawberry shortcake in a way I suppose.  Its every bit as delicious and such a simple and easy make.

CRUNCHY BLUEBERRY TART -  Imagine a tasty oatmeal cookie crust, filled with tart blueberries and topped with an oat crumble. This is to die for and quite simply the most delicious blueberry tart I have ever eaten. Adapted from a recipe in the book, "A Piece Of Cake," by Leila Lindholm.

DOUBLE CRUSTED BLUEBERRY OAT CRUMBLE - This tasty dessert has two layers of delicious  oaty buttery crumble topping.  One on the top and another like a crust . . . on the bottom!  With its sweet berry filling, its gorgeous served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or lashings of rich cream. You choose!

COCONUT, LIME & BLUEBERRY SCONES - These puff up really nicely, and are stogged full of lovely coconut and lime flavors which go really well with the blueberries. Rich and flaky and perfectly delicious served with some lime or lemon curd! 

BLUEBERRY BLISS DESSERT - A blueberry version of a traditional Eaton Mess, using blueberries, lemon curd yoghurt, whipped cream and meringues. Oh yes . . . some good!  Quick, easy and incredibly delicious. Everything you would expect in a good dessert! 

LEMON & BLUEBERRY TURNOVERS - What is a turnover but a little pie, and these ones are so easy to make! Lemon and Blueberries combined with flaky puff pastry and sweetly glazed. A combination made in heaven!  These are fabulously tasty!  Also a very easy make.

BLUEBERRY CRUNCH CAKE - This delicious cake has a wonderfully moist texture and is topped by a delicious crumble crunch.  This is quite simply a fabulous cake.  For breakfast, brunch or dessert. You choose!  It goes perfectly for all three occasions! 

BLUEBERRY & PECAN BARS - with a crisp shortbread  base and rich blueberry nut filling, these dessert bars never fail to impress.  Perfect with a hot cup of tea, coffee, or with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream for dessert. You choose! 

MARY BERRY'S BLUEBERRY MUFFINS -  Blueberry muffins are always a favorite and you cannot go wrong with a recipe  by Mary Berry, the Queen of baking! These muffins are muffins, pure and simple. Not too sweet. Not too large. Beautifully textured.  But then again, I would expect nothing less from Mary Berry.

So there you have it, a delicious assortment of Blueberry Bakes and Desserts, which hopefully make up for that abysmal blueberry loaf cake that so disappointed.   Sigh . . .  You know what they say. You just can't win them all.   I hope that I have redeemed myself!  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!

Follow me on Bloglovin