Blueberry Basil Breakfast Cake
a summer treat for an exceptionally challenging week
I’m writing to you from my couch during nap time on a 90+° F afternoon, finishing the crumbs of an orange scone from Panera Bread on a day where I’ve been sustained up until this point on solely the above mentioned scone, a large cup of coffee that I held on to for far too many hours, and a handful of cherries. Martin is traveling for work so I’m solo parenting this week, which is exhausting enough in itself, but it seems as though quite possibly everything that could go wrong this week did.
At the end of last week, our very old stove finally gave out. Our landlord ordered a new one to be delivered and installed on Monday, which of course, could not actually be installed on Monday by the delivery men due to something with how old the gas line hookup was. A plumber was needed for installation. Monday night—the old range still in the kitchen, the new range now sitting in my dining room…no working stove.
On Tuesday, I had a friend over for dinner (take-out due to the whole ‘no stove’ situation) and not 5 minutes after she walked in the door, we heard a loud crash. About half of the plaster ceiling in Marco’s had completely collapsed, leaving shards of plaster all over the floor, a large hole of exposed wood, and a few more large chunks of plaster hanging precariously ready to fall at a moment’s notice. I am endlessly grateful that this happened when we were all downstairs and no one was hurt. Tuesday night—no working stove, no ceiling in Marco’s room.
On Wednesday, the plumbers came to install the new range. They heaved the old one out and set to work connecting the new one. About an hour after they left, I still smelled gas, so they came back to double check and sure enough, the range itself was defective. They turned off the gas so thankfully, there was no leaking, but now I have no working stove OR oven. Wednesday night—no stove, no oven, no ceiling.
I have never in my life been more grateful to be a renter.
I have complained in this newsletter before about how difficult it can be to make friends and build community in a new place, but this week, I saw that while the community we have started to build here may be small, it is deep and authentic. My friend Ashley, who probably expected to come over and spend the evening sitting in the backyard with a glass of wine, immediately jumped in to action when the ceiling collapsed. She played with Marco and Tahini while I called Martin and the landlord, helped me set up Marco’s temporary bedroom in the den, and cleaned my kitchen while I got Marco ready for bed.
On Wednesday, when I started to have a mild panic attack over the slight gas smell coming from my new range, my neighbor Mary dropped everything to come over and give me a second opinion. She stayed with us while the plumber worked, asking him questions that I didn’t think to ask and reading books with Marco.
This week, I’ve experienced such kindness and it’s made me realize that maybe we do have ‘our people’ right here in New Jersey.
a simple snack cake
All of that being said, it is very challenging to develop a new recipe without an oven or a stove. So we are spotlighting one of my favorite summer snack cakes, filled with fragrant basil, juicy blueberries, and tangy buttermilk.
It’s endlessly adaptable—use whatever fruit or herb combination you’d like. The original recipe is served with honey-sweetened yogurt, but you could top with whipped cream or even just a dusting of powdered sugar.
blueberry basil breakfast cake
makes one 9” 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
Procedure:
Preheat the 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.