Melt-in-your-mouth Blueberry Cake

The blueberry picking season is upon us! As most of you know I've been picking blueberries at the same patch for over 20 years now.

It's a little local farm run by Farmer John at Macomber's Blueberry Farm. He's been filling our bellies with berries for a long time.

I devote a full day to picking and then freezing and food vacing my bounty of blueberries. We pick LOTS of them and then enjoy them for the whole year. I love grabbing a bag of berries in the dead of winter and getting a little taste of summer in my recipes.

One of my most favorite things to make when the first blueberries arrive is my To Die For Blueberry Muffins. They are the absolute best muffins on earth. That streusel topping is amazing. Alas, one cannot live on muffins alone. You need cake too! I found this cake recipe on Visit Maine's website. This recipe from taken from a Maine church cookbooks and was, as the Visit Maine website boasts: "undoubtedly the most popular recipe ever used in my column".

It's a cake that tastes like a big blueberry muffin. No filling of little paper cups, no muffin pan to clean. You fold in egg whites which makes a moist, light cake. I love it! A new favorite blueberry recipe!



Melt-in-your-Mouth Blueberry Cake
recipe from Visit Maine via Maine Church Cookbook
2 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1½ cups fresh blueberries (1 pint)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. You can add in about ¼ cup of the sugar to keep them stiff. Set aside.

Cream shortening and then add the salt and vanilla. Add remaining sugar gradually. Add the unbeaten egg yolks and beat until light and creamy. Sift the flour and the baking powder. You can sprinkle a bit of the flour mixture over the berries to they won’t settle in the cake.

Add sifted dry ingredients and milk, alternating between the dry mix and the milk. Fold in beaten whites. Fold in the fresh blueberries.

Turn into a greased 8-by-8-inch pan. Sprinkle top of batter generously with granulated sugar. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. I checked at the 50 minute mark and mine was done.