Blueberry Bundt Cake

Blueberry Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose Flour, unbleached (375 grams)

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

12 Tbsps, 1 1/2 sticks Butter, softened

1 2/3 cup Sugar (332 grams)

4 large Eggs

2 tsps Vanilla

8 ounces Sour Cream (235 grams)

2 cups Blueberries, rinsed, stems removed (12 ounces, 340 grams)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan (10-12 cup size).

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Slowly beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Blend well. Fold in the blueberries.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden pick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

Glaze:

3Tbsps Butter

2 cups Powdered Sugar (340 grams)

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Melt butter and stir in powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Allow to set 3 minutes then add more lemon juice, water or cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed to make a glaze.  

Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached-unbromated all purpose Flour (250 grams)
4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt
8 Tbsp Butter
1 Cup chilled Buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.)

Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.  Do not over mix.  The more you work the dough, the tougher it will be.  Overworking causes two things to happen: one, it creates gluten which is needed for yeast rolls but not desirable for biscuits; and two, it allows the bubbles from the chemical reactions to be released into the air deflating the dough.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough and never twist.  Twisting smears and locks the edge together which makes it hard and will not rise properly.  Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Mom usually made drop biscuits when I was growing up.  They are much easier because they don’t have to be rolled out and I actually prefer the taste and texture.  Simply add an additional 1/4 cup buttermilk and spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet or bread pan.   

Biscuits like those from Red Lobster can be made by adding sharp cheddar cheese and garlic powder to the drop biscuit recipe.   Then brush a little melted butter on top while hot.

Lightly patting the top of any style of biscuit before baking with just enough buttermilk to moisten the top will yield a nice golden brown crust without making them too hard.  

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.