Saturday, January 23, 2010

Pursuits in baking - Easy Blueberry Lemon Bundt


So, I've decided to start baking more.  I've hesitant to bake much for years, limiting myself to just flipping thru baking and decorating books and vicariously making alterations and imagining the perfect, awe-inspring results.  The reality, I felt, would be much different.  Exploding muffin tins, caved cheesecakes and gravity-oppressed souffles haunt my dreams.


I'm not exactly sure why I have this primal fear of desserts.  Perhaps starting up now will reveal a repressed memory of a bananas foster gone wrong setting my pigtails a-flame as a child?  Or maybe in another life I was flattened by a rogue 50 lbs bag of flour that leapt from a high shelf at the General Store?  More likely it's a simple fear of failure... and the mess this will turn my kitchen into on a regular basis.

All of that being said, I'm excited to branch out into the baking world... and to be sharing it with all of you.  Hopefully they're be lots of fun to be had, and probably a disaster or two to laugh about.  I mean, seriously, look what I do when I just taking PICTURES of baked things.

I thought I'd start out with some baby steps here and explore a couple of recipes that almost require a cake mix.  I say "require" because I've learned the hard way that adding things willy-nilly to pre-set cake recipes can get you into lots of trouble.  Boxed cake mixes, besides being fool-proof, contain emulsifiers that allow you throw in additions without making much, if any, changes to the mix recipe.



So here is my first project.  Be sure to check out the wonderful Carol Egbert's site for another project I guest posted on rainbow cupcakes using all-natural color - it should be up soon!


Recipe: Blueberry Lemon Burst Bundt Cake

What you'll need...
One box vanilla or white cake mix (you can also use lemon if you really want lemony cake!)
PLUS
Whatever ingredients the cake mix calls for
1 cup of plain yogurt (you can also use blueberry yogurt to really up the blueberry flavor!)
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
The zest and juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon of turmeric (optional, for bright yellow color - don't worry, your cake won't taste like turmeric!)

Special equipment: 12 cup bundt pan, small sauce pan, hand blender or food processor

What to do with it all...

Preheat oven to temperature according to boxed mix for a bundt pan
Liberally grease your bundt pan 
Add blueberries and water to a small saucepan to simmer for 5 mins, or until thawed (if using frozen) then allow to cool
Mix all cake mix ingredients according to directions, folding in the cup of yogurt, lemon juice and zest and optional turmeric
Puree your blueberries using a hand blender or food processor/stand blender
Pour puree into your cake batter, but do not stir
Pour batter into your bundt pan and bake according to box instructions (your cake may take a little longer because of the additions)
Remove after baking and allow to cool before inverting and removing
Glaze with a simple syrup, honey or simply dust with powdered sugar!

36 comments:

  1. I have a fear of baking, too! I love lemon and blueberries. The cake looks & sounds great! Maybe I should start baking more as well... :)

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  2. Yes, you should! Everything is easier with baking buddies :)

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  3. my god that cake looks absolutely wonderful!

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  4. MMMM Blueberry cake with lemon... great photos... love the cake stand!

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  5. looks like we are in the same shoes. I dread making complicated desserts...but cake mixes seem to be a good starter!

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  6. I'm impressed with the pics and really admire your cake stand.

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  7. love it! i've never made a bundt cake, looks and sounds delicious

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  8. blueberry and lemon is a match made in heaven this cake looks fabulous and I bet made your mouth water when it was baking as well!!!

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  9. That looks amazing Mae. Well done!

    Beautiful photos, and presentation. And it's purple, which I love too.

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  10. Stunning. And I also love the cake stand. It looks fresh and delicious. Yum.

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  11. this is sooooo beautiful! i love your blog, from the tiny little food frolicks to baking marvels like this one!

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  12. Thanks, all! The cake stand was purchased at a thrift store for a whopping $3 and also came with a very lovely dome lid (which I'm sure I'll feature later). I {heart} recycle/shopping!

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  13. Oooooh, pretty! Nothing better than a dessert that includes fresh fruit IMHO.

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  14. Oh wow - fab! I love bundt cake but never tried it with blueberries - my favourite fruit! Lovely cake stand too =)

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  15. Gorgeous! Beautiful pictures and captivating colours! :) Love it!

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  16. I gotta say, there's not much else that compares to the fabulosity of lemon and blueberry. They're a great duo! Like Bonnie n' Clyde, Mac n' Cheese, Mulder n' Scully -- you just can't go wrong!

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  17. This sounds perfect! I love blueberries.

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  18. I bet you're great baker! This looks like a great bundt and I love your glass cake display stand! :D

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  19. The picture of the batter being poured into the pan is fabulous! Glad you are confronting your fear of baking!

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  20. There is something about dessert....the anticipation that those who crave them build, the wait as plates are cleared, and VOILA here comes my lopsided cake and well, I hate to disappoint. Brave on and present all well-meaning desserts with pride is what I say!

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  21. Great thoughts you got there, believe I may possibly try just some of it throughout my daily life

    Cake Display

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  22. Tried it! Love it! I dropped the cake taking it from the oven and it remained upright but bounced into a bunch of pieces in the pan. Half cake as it was intended to be and half made into trifle! Both were wonderful!

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  23. This looks so yummy and easy I'm going to try it out.

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  24. I do something simular to this, but I add one small box of Lemon Jello to the cake mix.

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  25. For the cake that is shown in the above pictures, did you use turmeric? And which cake mix/yogurt?

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  26. OMG I loooove this cake!! It has become my "go to cake"....I use lemon cake mix and one little container of blueberry yogurt not a cup though...thank you for sharing!

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  27. I'm baking this cake tomorrow for a super bowl brunch (bc I live in Singapore and the game is on during the morning here) and using raspberries. I could only find one carton of fresh blueberries, so I opted for the raspberries instead since they had a large selection.

    It looks so pretty in the bundt pan. I thought it would also be pretty to make this for the Forth of July and use 1/2 blueberries and raspberries. The color combination with a white cake mix is perfect.

    Thanks for posting!

    Regards,
    Leslie Lancaster
    www.momsandfitness.com
    Facebook: The Hot Mom Bod

    P.S. This will be factored in to my cheat day......I usually don't eat cake or sweets during the week, but we all have to be normal sometimes lol!!

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  28. Tried it. I could definitely taste the turmeric. Next time I'd use yellow food coloring.

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  29. I love this cake, moist and fresh and perfect for spring! I used the juice from the blueberries (frozen on the stovetop) and add'l lemon juice for a beautiful glaze. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!

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  30. AnonymousMay 12, 2012

    Don't accidentally blend in the yogurt, wet sloppy mess once inverted! Only thing I could think of that would have done it, followed exactly otherwise...

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    1. Mine came out poorly also. I used a moist supreme cake mix, so maybe the yogurt wasn't necessary? I did accidentally blend the yogurt with the cake, all the blueberries sank to the bottom, creating a sloppy, blueberry mess on top. The entire cake is more like a custard or bread pudding consistency, rather than cake.

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  31. We had fun this weekend picking blueberries with our families and was looking for blueberries recipes. Thanks for sharing this, I can't wait to make it with my daughter! I've shared a link on our post Little Hands that Cook with Books and Blueberries too. http://theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com/2012/05/30-ways-to-eat-blueberries.html

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  32. AnonymousMay 17, 2012

    I made it for mothers day. It was a hit! There was no cake left! Very easy and beautiful. It actually came out looking like the photos you posted. :)

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  33. AnonymousMay 23, 2012

    Would you keep the recipe the same if you were making a normal cake instead of a bundt cake?

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  34. AnonymousJuly 01, 2012

    I made this and it turned out fantastic. Super delicious and very moist! I'm thinking of using a different fruit next time...maybe strawberries!

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  35. Can you be a little more specific with the quantities? How much lemon juice exactly, how much yogurt (1 cup as in what's in the yogurt cup, or 8 oz?)? Thanks! It's in my oven right now. :)

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Thanks for commenting - I'm always happy to hear from you!

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