Got Blueberries?

Are blueberries taking over your life?

Are they cluttering up your countertops and crouching in your freezer?

Do you feel like you're about to turn into Violet Beauregard if you eat one more fresh blueberry?

We sprinkle blueberries on oatmeal, we puree them into smoothies, we mix them up with cantaloupe, we pop them like M&M's...and still there are blueberries to contend with.

So, last night after a dinner of fresh corn on the cob and fried green tomatoes (gotta use the produce!), I made Blueberry Boy Bait. It's kind of like a blueberry coffee cake and a good way to use up some of those blueberries.



Here's what you'll need:

2 C. flour (yep. just your everyday all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 C. white sugar
2/3 C. butter (unsalted, if you please)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks (separating eggs can be tricky, proceed with caution)
1 C. milk (I used organic 2% - not sure if that makes any difference whatsoever)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 egg whites
1 to 2 C. fresh blueberries (depends on how fond you are of blueberries - or how many you want to get rid of)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a springform pan (I think the one I used was a 9 inch). Note: The original recipe says to use a 9x13 baking dish, so if you prefer that look, then go ahead and use a 9x13 if you must. Just make sure you cut down on the baking time.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or a couple of knives until you've got a bowl of pea-sized crumbles. Measure out 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside (you'll use this later for the topping).

Stir the baking powder and salt into the remaining mixture, then mix in the egg yolk, milk and vanilla beating on low speed for 3 minutes.

In a large glass or metal bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks begin to form and then gently fold those suckers into the batter. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle the blueberries on top. Then sprinkle the reserved topping mixture over the blueberries. Note: I added a pinch of cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar to this mixture before sprinkling on top of the blueberries.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until cake springs back when lightly touched in the middle. Note: My cake did not "spring back". In fact, it was kinda jiggly, but the edges were nice and brown after about 62 minutes, so I took it out. Turns out the jiggliness was due to the massive amounts of blueberries I used on the top of the cake. The cake was done perfectly and once the blueberries cooled a bit, it was fine and dandy.