Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

I absolutely love this recipe for everyday cakes. I love the fact that I can use up any berries left over from not eating them fresh which happens almost always. And I must confess - I love my berries real sweet. So more often than not the berries are a bit sour for my taste and I end up making this cake for a weekend breakfast/snack. Since I seem to be making this way too often I decided to make it a bit more healthy and substantial; just so a piece of this cake, a cup of coffee and an egg scrambled makes for a scrumptious weekend breakfast.

Any type of berries will work and I have tried blueberries and raspberries and they both turn out yummy.  I doubled the recipe and have used a 50-50 mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. If using whole wheat pastry flour then you can use that for the entire 2 cups that is called for in this recipe. The one thing with using whole grain flour is that the texture tends to be dense and the cake turns out just a wee bit dry than when using all purpose flour. So to overcome that I make an orange (or any other flavored syrup) to glaze/soak the cake in. This results in a very fruity flavored moist cake which surely is a keeper.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened
11/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh blueberry

Orange syrup
1/4 - 1/3 cup fresh orange juice (about 4 clementines)
1 tsp grand marnier
3 tbsp sugar (or more, adjust to taste)


Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and dust with flour.
2. In a bowl mix all the two flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer till it turns pale yellow and airy, about 3-4 min.
4. Add vanilla extract, the orange zest and eggs. Beat until well mixed.
5. Add the flour mixture in three batches and buttermilk alternately to the wet ingredients starting and finishing with the flour. Mix just until the flour is well incorporated.
6. Pour into the prepared 9-inch cake pan and evenly spread the batter. 
7. Scatter the blueberries evenly over the top. Bake for 40-45 min or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
8. Let it cool and then invert it on to a plate.  When the cake is cooling prepare the glaze/syrup. 
9. In a small pan mix all the orange juice and sugar. Heat it over a medium flame for 3-5 min until the sugar dissolves. Add grand marnier, let it boil on low for a minute or two more. Remove from heat.

Assembly - Poke a few holes on the cake with a toothpick or a fork. Spoon the glaze/syrup over the cake. Its ok even if it forms a puddle on the top. With time the syrup will seep into the cake. Let it rest for a few hours before serving.

Enjoy !!