This is truly one of the best blueberry cakes you’ll ever eat. It’s light, it’s moist, it’s everything a bit of cake should be. This is one of the most requested repeats by my cake-eating friends.
For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or both!)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries (15 oz)
For the Topping:
1/2 large egg white (1 egg white is just over 2 tablespoons before beating, so you’ll want about a tablespoon of egg white)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13 glass baking dish.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla and/or almond extract.
Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour), beating on low speed after each addition until just incorporated. Fold in blueberries.
Pour batter into buttered baking dish, spreading evenly.
Lightly beat egg white with a fork – just enough to loosen the egg white but not enough to make it stiff. Stir 3 tablespoons of sugar into the lightly beaten egg white. Add the almonds, stirring to coat. Spoon the topping over the batter as evenly as possible.
Bake in middle of 350°F oven, 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and lightly cover with aluminum foil if the top is getting too dark.
Cool in the pan on a rack for at least an hour before cutting.
If the cake is around after the first day, stick it in the fridge.
Adapted from Gourmet magazine, 2000
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