I was in a foul state of mind this afternoon so I decided to bake. Normally if I am feeling restless or down, I cook and just the distraction and activity make me feel a bit better. I chose this recipe because it was simple and didn't require me to haul out any of the equipment, but a foul mood is not a good baking companion. I managed to make a mess of nearly every single ingredient--flour, butter, both sugars, salt, the blueberries went rolling. I spent more time cleaning up than I did in the actual cake prep. It's fortunate that the result was worth it.
Here's today's cast.
Half a bag of frozen blueberries went into a small pan on medium heat, along with a teaspoon of sugar.
I blasted the pan with nonstick and floured it. It looks awful where the flour clumped up but I really didn't feel like taking the time to butter it properly.
The blueberries and sugar were mixed together and as they bubbled, I mashed them with the back of the spoon.
After a few minutes, they made a nice, chunky syrup. I took the pan off the heat and left it on the side for the moment.
Melted butter, sugar and the egg were combined well.
Then the vanilla and milk were added.
The flour, salt and baking powder were supposed to be sifted together before being added to the liquid but again, I didn't feel like it.
Butter, white and brown sugars, cinnamon and flour were combined in a small bowl to make streusel...
I used my fingers to mix everything together.
Half the cake batter went into the pan; it was a bit scant so I had to push it towards the edges.
The rest of the blueberries went on next, along with half of the streusel topping.
It was challenging to spread the remaining cake batter as there was not a whole lot of it. I topped the batter with the blueberry syrup and used a toothpick to swirl it around.
The rest of the streusel went on and the cake went into a 375F oven for 35 minutes. It was hard to tell if it was cooked through because of the fruit and streusel so I used a toothpick in several places.
It came out golden and smelled really good! I let it cool a bit and sliced it when it was still warm.
The smallish proportion of cake to fruit was really good--you get just enough cake to keep everything together and the different textures of whole blueberries and the syrupy blueberries made for a great gooey texture. The streusel got slightly crisp on top but otherwise melded into the cake. The cake is surprisingly not very sweet. It got a thumb's up from the guys.
I lost two barbershop friends in less than two weeks--for both of them, their passing was very sudden and very unexpected. I've known Bill ever since I began barbershopping in 1997. I thought of him as one of the mainstays of the local men's chapter and I am sure that continued when he moved to the mainland. Bill was a rascal and always looked like he was up to something! I count his daughter, Steph, as a good friend, and she definitely inherited his humor, musical talent and penchant for mischief!
I have only known Julie for the past two years. She was the membership coordinator for San Diego Chorus and she was also the person I submitted all my audio tracks to. She would patiently listen to all my recordings and give me positive and constructive feedback. Whenever I was able to be at rehearsals in person, I knew I could count on Julie for a big smile and a warm hug.
Whenever a barbershopper passes, someone will always say the Heavenly Choir gained another voice. I just wish your auditions hadn't come up so soon.
Here's the promised link:
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