Makes one 9-inch cake
In this simple cake, plump, silver-hued blueberries are folded into a creamy-textured, orange-fragrant batter. Buttermilk tenderizes the cake and offers a slightly acidic element to contrast with the fruit. When blueberries are ripe and plentiful, this is a good excuse to take out your baking pans.
| Butter (for the pan) | |
| Flour (for the pan) | |
| 2 | cups flour |
| 1½ | teaspoons baking powder |
| ½ | teaspoon baking soda |
| ½ | teaspoon salt |
| 1¼ | cups (less than 1 pint) fresh blueberries, picked over |
| ½ | cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature |
| ¾ | cup granulated sugar |
| Grated rind of ½ navel orange | |
| 2 | eggs |
| 1 | teaspoon vanilla extract |
| 1 | cup buttermilk |
| Confectioners’ sugar (for sprinkling) |
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1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Butter a round 9-inch layer-cake pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another bowl, toss the blueberries with 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture.
4. In an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar in two additions, beating for 1 minute after each. Beat in the orange rind, then the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
5. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula twice.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a large rubber spatula fold in the blueberries and any excess flour in the bowl. Spoon the batter into the pan, lightly smoothing the top.
7. Bake the cake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake is clean when withdrawn.
8. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and return the cake to the rack to cool. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar.
Lisa Yockelson