vanilla cake | Keeping Busy With B

BFoodPix-Blueberrycake-09 I bet y’all want to know what I baked for Easter. It was never an elaborate affair in my household growing up, but now that I’m older and live on my own there’s something nice about having an excuse to have family members over for brunch. This past year the victim was my dad, and he claimed to love the quiche that I made him, although personally I think he liked this cake even more. Don’t tell him- the cake was ten times easier to make!

Blueberry Cake with Lemon-Yogurt Drizzle (serves 8)

Cake

Use your favorite vanilla cake recipe, your favorite pre-packaged mix, or the recipe for my classic vanilla cupcakes here. (Yes! They work in cake format as well.)

Filling

3/4 c. blueberry pie filling

Drizzle

1/3 c. Greek yogurt, plain

6 tbsp icing sugar

lemon juice, to taste

Preheat oven to 325F, then prep your vanilla cake batter. (You can use whichever recipe you’d like, although I highly recommend the one posted here. I may or may not be a little biased.) Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans and bake according to your recipe (approximately 25 minutes or so, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean). Let cakes stand in pan for ten minutes or so to cool before transferring them onto a wire rack.

B’s Tip: You must let both layers cool completely before assembling. Trust me on this one- you’re going to end up ladling out portions of your cake with a spoon if you don’t!

Transfer one cake onto a large serving dish or platter. Generously spread blueberry pie filling over top, taking care to leave approximately half an inch border around the perimeter so all the blueberry goodness doesn’t squirt out. Gently sandwich the second cake overtop of the first one. You may wish to add more blueberry filling to your middle layer by spreading more filling along the side of your cake using the tip of your knife.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt and icing sugar until a paste is formed. Add lemon juice as desired (if you’re using flavored yogurt, you may want to leave it as-is). Whisk until mixture is thick and runny, but still opaque. Let stand approximately 10 minutes and mix once more before drizzling over your cake in your favorite pattern, or spread using a flat knife or spatula for a more coated look.

I love the flavors of blueberry and lemon together, but this cake is so simple it’s easy to change out the blueberries for another favorite fruit filling. You may want to experiment with different flavors of yogurt, or another fruit juice to make another killer combo that will have people scratching their heads, wondering how you came up with such an awesome recipe. (Don’t worry- my lips are sealed.)

KBwB-BFlower-50 Baking with B appears every other Monday (usually!) on the Keeping Busy with B Blog. Find out why I like baking so much here. For more of my baking, click here. And for even more recipe inspiration, check out my Pinterest full of food eye candy that will have you licking your computer. Promise.

When I asked Shannon what kind of cake she’d like for her birthday, she said she’d be happy with anything as long as it was “something with fruit and whipped cream”.

I was only to happy to oblige, and came with up with this summery cake. Even though this is probably best served when the first fresh strawberries come out at the end of June, it still tasted like the promise of sunshine and beautiful weather to come wen we ate it back in January.

Of course, maybe I’m biased because I’m a summer baby (hint, hint). But everyone else in the office enjoyed it, which makes me think it’s a treat to be enjoyed year-round, especially if you like desserts that are light and fruity.

Shannon’s Strawberry Cake (serves 6)

generous 3/4 c. flour

1 stick butter or margarine

rounded 1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp apricot jam (or preferred flavour)

1 1/2 c. whipped cream

strawberries for garnish

Grease 2 small layer cake pans. In a medium bowl, sift flour. Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, blended with the vanilla extract, adding a spoonful of flour with the last amount. Carefully fold in the remaining flour.

Divide the mixture between the two cake pans and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for a couple of minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

B’s Tip: I didn’t have two pans the same size unfortunately, and ended up making one long sheet cake. It was easy enough to cut it in half in order to make the two layers, but it left the cake with a golden crust on just one side, which I opted to cut off. It worked out okay, but not great, ya know? Desperate times call for desperate measures, but in the end, go with the two pans.

While cakes are cooling, whip up the whipped cream. I macerated one strawberry in the whipped cream that gave it a wonderful fresh flavour and a tiny bit of sugar. You’re totally welcome to do whatever.

When cakes are cool, heat up the jam of your choice. (Apricot is my recommendation, as it’s super-subtle and lets the vanilla-y cake flavour shine through, but switch it up and tells me how it goes!) Spread over top bottom layer of cake. Sandwich second cake on top. Cover with whipped cream and sliced strawberry as garnish.

Obviously, strawberries are super delicious and made this cake super yum, but you could substitute for any fresh summer fruit, or maybe change it up with some pineapple rings and a sprinkle of coconut. Or change up the flavour by omitting the vanilla extract in the cake batter, and cream in instead 2 tbsp finely grated orange or lemon rind in with the butter.

Happy baking!

KBwB-Flower-50

Baking with B appears every other Monday on the Keeping Busy with B Blog. Find out why I like baking so much here. For more of my baking, click here. And for even more recipe inspiration, check out my Pinterest full of food eye candy that will have you licking your computer. Promise.

Keeping Busy With B

Tag Archives: vanilla cake

Baking with B: Blueberry Cake with Lemon-Yogurt Drizzle

Baking with B: Shannon’s Strawberry Cake