DID SOMEONE SAY CAKE?

 

Sorry it's been a bit quiet around here. We have just returned home from a much needed family holiday. We traveled to Sydney for a wedding, spent a few days with Adam's parents and we squeezed in a dinner with some old friends. Then we flew to Tamworth to see my folks and extended family who were there to celebrate my Nan's 90th birthday...our trip was full of celebrations!

So what's the first thing I do when I get home from holidays? I bake a cake! I've been wanting to make this cake since I saw it posted on 101cookbooks, a beloved blog I have been following for quite some time. Heidi makes all her cooking look so effortless it's always a joy to re-create one of her recipes, plus it just so happened that I had a jar of Blackstrap Molasses in the fridge and half a packet of blueberries in the freezer.

This cake is so deliciously moist, even more so the day after so I'm pretty sure it will keep for a week if wrapped well. It tastes similar to a fruit cake but not as sweet, it's quite malty I suppose, a bit like a dark rye bread and the plump and juicy blueberries are such a great addition. There's no refined sugar and to get all healthy on you Blackstrap Molasses is SUPER healthy - its high in iron, magnesium, calcium, B6, it's a great sugar substitute for diabetics and it's supposedly great for your hair! Sold! 

I am going to work on this recipe for this year's Christmas Cake. I'm thinking chunks of dark chocolate and perhaps the fruit ratio could be higher?....Maybe dried blueberries for an extended shelf life? I'll get back to y'all on that! For now, here it is in its original form.

OLD FASHIONED BLUEBERRY CAKE

Heidi suggested using a 50/50 ratio of plain flour and wholemeal flour which I did of course! It's worked out fine so let me know if you go all wholemeal or if you use a gluten free flour? As I would love to do a G.F Christmas Cake! 

Oh and I totally forgot to add the butter, I don't think it made a difference??? So you could do without or perhaps use oil?

Serves 8-10

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour and 1/2 + 2 tablespoons of plain flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

5 tablespoons milk (divided)

1/2 cup Blackstrap Molasses

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, barely melted

1 1/2 cups blueberries, frozen

1 teaspoon flour

Icing sugar (optional), to sprinkle on top or a big dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Preheat your oven to 180C degrees. 

Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan (I used an old square cake tin)

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl whisk together the cider vinegar with 3 tablespoons of the milk. 

In a measuring jug or another small bowl whisk the molasses with the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk.

Whisk the cider vinegar mixture into the molasses mixture, then whisk in the eggs.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just barely combined. 

Stir in the butter. 

Toss the blueberries with 1 teaspoon of flour and fold them into the batter. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about thirty minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. 

Let cool for a few minutes and then serve sprinkled with powdered sugar, or with a dollop of whipped cream on the side. 

I left the cake in the pan and served it from there as suggested.
Enjoy!