My Boy Bait brings all the boys to the yard...

I haven't had much luck in the boy/man department lately (some may argue it's because I'm not really trying... minor detail) so when I first saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I had a similar reaction as Deb did when she first heard of it - that it would eventually get made, sooner rather than later, and I thought my potluck would be the perfect venue for it.

August is prime blueberry season, and we actually had a 2 lb-container of blueberries in the fridge.


Even as I was mixing up the cake, I knew it was going to be a hit - the batter was light and airy, despite the huge amount of butter (1 whole cup!) that went into it.


The cake is topped with a thin layer of cinnamon sugar, which gives the top a crisp, sweet crust.


So did I manage to bait any boys? Not that I know of, but some of my friends liked it so much that I was prompted to make a snide comment about portion control (Sorry, I can be rude sometimes!) and one of the girls (who has a boyfriend) asked me for the recipe.

I guess next time I need to double it up with Rachael Ray's You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta, but if that doesn't work at least I have a wholesome, buttery blueberry cake under my belt!

Blueberry Boy Bait
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 12, generously (Makes a 9" x 13" cake)

Cake:

• 505 mL (2 cups + 1 tsp) flour, separated*
  
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) baking powder
  
• 250 mL (1 cup) butter, softened
  
• 185 mL (¾ cup) packed light brown sugar
  
• 125 mL (½ cup) granulated sugar
  
• 3 large eggs
  
• 250 mL (1 cup) milk
  
• 125 mL (½ cup) blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw if frozen)

Topping:

• 125 mL (½ cup) blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw if frozen)
  
• 60 mL (¼ cup) granulated sugar
  
• 2 mL (½ tsp) ground cinnamon

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 175˚C (350˚F). Grease and flour 9" x 13" baking pan.
   
2. Whisk 500 mL (2 cups) flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
   
3. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl.
   
4. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture.
   
5. In small bowl, toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into prepared pan.
   
6. For topping, scatter blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter.
   
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up)**. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)
   

*The original recipe calls for all-purpose flour (of course), but I used whole wheat because a little extra fibre never hurt anyone! ;)
**We had a bit of a funny episode with this one... I'd advise turning it out on a cutting board, then putting your serving dish on top and flipping the whole thing over.

Nutrition Info (per 3" × 3¼" piece): 347 calories, 16 g fat (10 g saturated), 94 mg cholesterol, 45 g carbohydrate (1 g fibre, 28 g sugar), 5 g protein, 154 mg sodium. A good source of vitamin A, folate and selenium.

YouTube won't let me embed the official video...