lately, I feel like many of the conversations I’ve had center around relationships (and lack thereof). it’s something I didn’t really think about much back in philly – but in d.c., a melting pot of semi-transient young working professionals, it seems like people wear their lonely hearts on their sleeves.
for example, a friend of mine was invited to a potluck dinner by a boy she was interested in. she agonized about what to bring – and whether flexing her considerable cooking skills and bringing ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake (look it up – it’s stunning) would be “too much”.
I’m not much good at romantic advice, but my general feeling about talents is that you should never be afraid to show them off! chances are you worked hard for those skills, and sharing them with other people tends to make everyone a little happier. she did end up making the cauliflower cake, and I heard from her later that it was very well-received. of course, the boy didn’t make any overt moves, but that’s just 20-something straight males for ya.
having just returned from dinner with some friends where they once again chatted about the single life, I was searching for a recipe to use up the rest of the almost-expired buttermilk in my fridge and came across america’s test kitchen’s “blueberry boy bait” recipe. the name was simply too good to pass up. (read more about the name here.) my first attempt came out a bit too greasy and heavy on the palate, but with a few tweaks, this “boy bait” becomes a buttery delight – dense with a close, chewy crumb, a slightly crackly sugar topping, and lovely bursts of blueberries.
makes one 9•13-in pan
250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
169g (12 tbsp) unsalted butter
145g (3/4 cup, packed) light brown sugar
100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon zest (from ~1 lemon)
3 large eggs
1 cup (235mL) buttermilk
~85g (~3/4 cup) blueberries, frozen*
topping
~85g (~3/4 cup) blueberries, frozen
50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
jack bishop et al. cook’s country eats local: 150 regional recipes you should be making no matter where you live. new york: penguin random house. 2015.
2 in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (~2 minutes with paddle attachment of stand mixer, ~6 minutes ). add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated. (scrape down the sides if necessary and mix again for a few more seconds.)
3 mix in 1/3 of flour mixture, then 1/2 the milk, and continue alternating, ending with flour, until the mixture is well-mixed. toss the blueberries with flour and fold into the batter. spread the batter into the prepared pan.
topping|1 scatter blueberries over the top of the batter. stir sugar and cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl, then sprinkle evenly over the batter.
2 bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. (check on the cake at the 25-minute mark – it may brown quicker than expected. if it does, cover it with foil.)
3 let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn out and place on a serving platter or cutting board, topping side up. cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. (this cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, and freezes well for up to 1 month.)
*I used frozen blueberries in this recipe because I found they held up better to the denser crumb of the cake. but if you have fresh berries, they work beautifully as well. the berries do tend to sink to the bottom in this recipe, as the cake batter is quite thin.
fort juniper 