Blueberry Basil Breakfast Cake
/A simple buttermilk and blueberry snack cake recipe served with honey yogurt. A quick and easy summer dessert recipe for all of your backyard barbecues.
blueberry basil breakfast cake, sliced
I love you guys, but you aren’t the most helpful bunch when helping me with recipe ideas. Last week, I had a bunch of juicy little blueberries in my fridge so I took an Instagram poll asking if you’d like to see a snack cake recipe or a scone recipe with them. It was a real nail-biter and when I started planning the recipe out, snack cake was winning by five votes. By the time I finished photographing, scones had taken over. It was too late so this week, you are getting a snack cake recipe and I’m back to work in the kitchen for those scones.
what exactly is a snack cake?
Besides being my very favorite category of baked goods, what makes a snack cake a snack cake? While there isn’t a completely definitive answer for this question, the general consensus is that a snack cake is a simpler-style cake. (If you’re interested in reading what a bunch of pastry chefs consider a snack cake, check out this article). For my personal definition, snack cake criteria is as follows: single layer, made with simple pantry ingredients, easy mixing method (this means blending method with liquid fat or creaming method with solid fat). Whatever the official definition, they are simple and they are delicious and I love them. I’m calling this specific snack cake a ‘breakfast cake’ because it tastes a bit like a muffin and gives me permission to eat it for breakfast.
blueberry basil breakfast cake, sliced and plated with honey yogurt
how to make (and adapt) a blueberry basil breakfast cake
This cake is easy-peasy and is endlessly adaptable based on whatever fresh fruit you have on hand. To start, basil leaves are rubbed into sugar which breaks them down and releases all of the oils inside. Then the sugars are whisked together with your standard dry ingredients (flour, leaveners, salt) + a little semolina flour. I love using semolina flour to give a coarser texture to baked goods, but you could very easily substitute this with cornmeal or even another flour, like spelt or rye. Or just use more all purpose—I told you this cake was adaptable.
For the wet ingredients, we are using melted butter (you can brown it for an extra oomph of flavor), vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk for extra tenderness. Wet ingredients are whisked into the dry to create a thick batter and then fresh blueberries are folded in. The whole thing gets topped with more fresh blueberries and a layer of crunchy demerara sugar before baking. I like to serve this cake with sweetened yogurt, but you could use whipped cream or ice cream if you prefer. It’s also great plain with a giant cup of coffee.
a piece of blueberry basil breakfast cake
Blueberry Basil Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (80 g) semolina flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (54 g) brown sugar
- 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (230 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1 1/2 tbsp demerara sugar
- 1/4 cup plain whole milk greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 9” springform pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add the chopped basil leaves and use your fingers to rub the basil into the sugars until fragrant and combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, semolina flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the sugars/basil and whisk until combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter until smooth and homogenized.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until no dry spots remain and you have a thick, smooth batter. Add 3/4 of the blueberries, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them in until evenly dispersed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle the top with the remaining blueberries and demerara sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until deeply golden brown and the center of the cake is no longer wiggly. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.
- To serve: whisk together yogurt and honey. Add a dollop of honey yogurt on each slice of cake and serve immediately.
Notes:
This cake is endlessly adaptable. Substitute any summer berry you have on hand!
