August is supposed to be the last month of summer, but the humidity and heat keeps reminding us that the simmering season is going nowhere fast. The one thing I look forward to in this month is our annual road trip to Maine. It’s a fitting place to celebrate summer with lobster rolls, fried clams—and everything blueberry, since harvest is in August.
In Ogunquit, Maine, order a Blueberry Martini from Five-O. It is the only establishment that makes the perfect cocktail—loads of fresh blueberry flavor, not overly sweet, and no artificial after taste. If you added a wedge of flakey piecrust, you’d think you were eating a boozy blueberry pie.
Blueberry is the state berry of Maine, and there’s a thriving industry of both wild and cultivated blueberries. Blueberries are in the same family as rhododendrons, azaleas, cranberries, and huckleberries. They all thrive in acidic soil.
The highbush (cultivated) blueberries grow on bushes that are 4-8 feet tall, easy to pick by hand, while their lowbush (wild) cousins are smaller and are harvested with rakes. The flavor of both berries is comparable but the cultivated blueberries are preferred due to the larger size of the berries.
To get in the mindset of Maine, blueberries became the main ingredient for this recipe. I combined them with apricots (my love for Paris still lingers on my tongue) to create these petite cakes. Hmm . . . may be I’ll use some peaches next time around.
1. With oven rack in middle position reduce heat to 325℉. Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350℉. Spray four 5-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray, line bottom with parchment round, and spray round; dust pan with flour and knock out excess.
2. Whisk flour and baking powder in small bowl to combine; set aside. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat sugar, salt, and lemon zest at medium-low speed until combined. Add butter and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes; using rubber spatula, scrape down bowl.
3. With mixer running on medium speed, add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beat until partially incorporated, then scrape down bowl and continue to beat until fully incorporated (mixture might appear broken). Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture; beat until flour is almost fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer; stir batter with rubber spatula, to finish mixing; batter will be very heavy and thick. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries and apricots until evenly distributed.
4. Divide batter into prepared pans; with small rubber spatula, using a pushing motion, spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Break up brown sugar topping with fingers to form cohesive clump and sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Place cake on parchment lined baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown and toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool on wire rack fro 15 minutes.
5. Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Invert cake to remove from pan, lift off cake pan, then peel off and discard parchment. Re-invert cake onto cooling rack and cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.
1. Place cream cheese, sugar, liquor, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream. When almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
1. Using a small off-set spatula, spread frosting on sides and top of each cake. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before garnishing with sliced almonds and fresh fruit.
