Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Cream cheese and blueberry cake

Cream cheese and blueberry cake / Bolo de cream cheese e mirtilo

I have been busy at the kitchen again – thank heavens! – but I haven’t found the time to sit down and write posts – so, my apologies for those of you who have stopped by lately only to stare at the red wine cake for ages. :S

And a special hug to Ellen, a lovely and dear reader who makes the recipes and always sends me the sweetest and warmest comments. <3


A couple of weeks ago I was going through beautiful recipes online and found Emiko’s mascarpone and blackberry cake – it looked so beautiful! I felt like grabbing a slice from the screen, but since that is (still) not possible I went to the kitchen and made my version of her cake, changing a few things: there was a tub of cream cheese in my fridge begging to be used and a bag of blueberries in the freezer. The result was wonderful and pleased everyone who had a chance of snacking on it.

Cream cheese and blueberry cake
slightly adapted from Emiko Davies’ gorgeous blog

Blueberry compote:
1 cup (140g) blueberries – I used frozen, unthawed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
180g cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons Cointreau (optional)

Start by making the compote: place the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan and warm until the berries soften and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes – stir occasionally. Squash the berries with the back of a spoon as you stir. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 5 ½ cup-capacity loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and cream cheese and cream until light and fluffy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the Cointreau (if using). On low speed, add the flour mixture mixing only until incorporated – do not overmix.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Top with the blueberries, keeping most of the juice (so the cake don’t get soggy). Swirl the berries through the cake with a butter knife. Smooth out the top without mixing too much.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serves 8

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Patricia,

I made this cake this morning and it is lovely. Blueberries, orange zest and cream cheese play so nicely in the sandbox together. The texture is velvety. My husband said yum at first bite and immediately wondered when I'll be making it again. For Americans, the pan size is 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2.

I made granola apple crisp for breakfast so I gave my husband the blueberry compote liquid to put on the crisp. It would also be good on yogurt.

It's nice that you post a lot of small cakes. Much as I enjoy frosted layer cakes; we are a family of two and there's only so much dessert we can eat. Our dogs keep telling us to just put the rest in their bowls, but I limit myself to sneaking them a bite here and there.

Thanks bunches for being such so generous. I really appreciate the time you take to share all these wonderful recipes with us, photograph them so beautifully (on your adorable dishware) and even translate to English. You are a kind person.

Nisa-mom said...

Hello Patricia, I baked the cake yesterday, I double the ingredients so I can share one for my friend who baby sit my daughter.. it was delicious even thou your cake much prettier than mine, I should put more berries . There is another recipe i put eye on, so I will make it soon :) thank you

Patricia Scarpin said...

Ellen, my darling, I am so happy to know that you made this cake! I loved it and I am glad to know you did, too. What a beautiful way to use up those blueberry juices - I swirled mine into yogurt, but forgot to mention it on the post.
I have some delicious cookies coming out this week (working on the post tonight) and I hope you like the recipe.
xoxo

Nisa, I am so happy to know you like this recipe, dear! Thank YOU for taking the time to drop me a note, I loved it!
xx


reneewells said...

Hello, Patricia. I'm so glad to have found your blog.

I like these cakes that you post because they are just right for my small family of 3. And, unlike frosted cakes, they are easier and quicker to make.

I love zesty cakes and with blueberry, wow, this is a hit. Cream cheese adds the right richness.

Next on my list is your Madeira cake.

Thank you.

Cheers!

Related Posts with Thumbnails