Zoë François does it again! Blueberry Muffin Cake may sound ho-hum, but she takes it to another level in her Zoë Bakes Cakes cookbook.
Not only do you get a buttery, delicious cake, but she stuffs it with blueberries, then tops it with cinnamon/sugar/walnuts and for the finale - dots the top with butter!
Every cake from this book is getting better and better.
When we first chose this book, I didn't think the recipes posed much of a challenge, but looks are deceiving.
Zoë creates new and different twists on some cakes you may have been making for years. I can't wait for the next cake recipe the Cake Slice Baker's group chooses.
She uses an 8-inch springform pan for this cake, but I only have a 9-inch and 10-inch and decided not to buy another one. I'm running out of pan space..
Instead, I used a high-sided 8-inch cake pan and it worked perfectly. Remember - it needs to be high-sided (about 2 ½ inches high) because the cake rises quite a bit.
Enough about technicalities. How did it taste?
Outstanding. That walnut topping with dots of butter melts into the cake and the flavor in combination with the cake is wonderful.
And let's talk blueberries. She calls for 2 cups (I used fresh) and you may think that's too much, but it's not.
You get plenty of cake, but also tons of bursting blueberries.
Tips for a Better Cake:
- The butter, milk, and eggs must be at room temperature so the batter won't curdle.
- Lightly flour the blueberries so they don't all sink during baking.
- When testing for doneness, you may run into a blueberry, so keep testing until you get just cake on the tester. Don't overbake.
Blueberry Muffin Cake is one of the best recipes from this cookbook. It's really amazing and particularly good right out of the oven.
Stay tuned for next month's Cake Slice Baker's challenger and be sure to visit their incredible creations this month (listed below the recipe).
Blueberry Muffin Cake
Buttery cake filled with tons of blueberries and topped with a walnut, butter, cinnamon topping.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoon (140g) butter, room temperature
- 1 C (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ C (180g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ C (35g) whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ½ C (120ml) milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 C (310g) fresh or frozen blueberries
- Topping:
- ½ C (60g) chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon butter, cut into 8 pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190°C). Spray an high-sided 8" cake pan or 8" (20cm) springform pan, then line the bottom and sides with sprayed parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine the butter, sugar, both of the flours, baking powder, salt, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Process until smooth (make sure the butter lumps are blended in).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, scraping the batter out of the processor bowl.
- Toss the blueberries lightly with flour (so they don't sink as much) Sprinkle the blueberries on top of the cake, then swirl the batter around, letting the blueberries blend in.
- Bake until the cake is starting to set in the middle and is light golden brown, about 40 minutes.
- For the topping: While the cake is baking, put the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a small bowl and toss to combine. (keep the butter refrigerated until you're ready to put it on the cake so it won't be too soft to handle)
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake, pressing down carefully and lightly. Distribute the butter pieces evenly over the cake.
- Bake the cake for 20-25 minutes more until a toothpick comes out fairly clean. The cake make take a few minutes longer if you're using frozen blueberries.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a rack, to about room temperature. Pull out the parchment paper sides, then run a butter knife gently around the sides to loosen the cake.
- If you're using a springform pan, remove the sides and transfer to a cake plate. If you're using a high-sided 8" cake pan, take a dinner plate and invert the cake onto the plate. Get your cake plate and put it on the bottom side of the cake and flip it back over. Pick up the excess topping and toss it back on top if a little falls out.
- Serve the cake warm with a dollop of whipped cream or yogurt, or a scoop of ice cream. (I like it plain - it's wonderful!)
- Store at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Notes
I used a high-sided 8" cake pan and it worked great! A little of the topping will fall off when you're inverting the cake, so invert it over another pan or the sink. I just threw the excess back on top of the cake.
The original recipe called for unsalted butter - I used salted.
The parchment paper you put around the sides is easiest to do if you spray the sides of the pan, smooth the parchment paper in, then lightly spray again.
2 cups of blueberries seems like a lot, but it's the perfect amount.
I broke my butter into about 12 pieces to be distributed evenly on top.
Zoe's recipe says you can make this with any of your favorite fruit, no matter what the season - peaches, other berries, chopped applies. Just use 2 cups of your favorite.
The original recipe calls for whole milk - I used 2%. It also calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour and ½ cup almond flour. I used all-purpose flour only because I'm not fond of almond flour's texture.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 121mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 4g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Beehive Cake
Hot Milk Sponge Cake
Blueberry Muffin Cake
That cake looks amazing! I can't wait to try it.
This was definitely one of the other cakes I want to make. Thanks for the inspiration.
You'll like it Camilla. I was sad when it was gone... 🙂
Your cake is gorgeous. I can't wait to try it with the blueberries.
Thank you Wendy! I'm looking to do a blueberry-peach next!
Your cake is beautiful and your blueberries are so evenly distributed throughout!
Thanks Karen!