Are blueberry cakes not a thing?

I did a web search and there are recipes out there. But I have never heard of a person in my area making a blueberry cake. I just wonder if it is like this here, or everywhere. It sounds delicious to me, but maybe there is some other reason. I know they are not native to this area, and have not been domesticated very long, but blueberries in things such as blueberry muffins is quite common here. What gives?

I have always associated blueberries with pie and not cake...

Yeah, what gives?

Blueberry coffee cakes are pretty common.

Mk Neal wrote:Blueberry coffee cakes are pretty common.

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but common where?   When I read the OP, I immediately envisioned blueberries in a yellow cake matrix, but realized this was all about my eating of blueberry muffins.   Almost certain I've never been at a function where blueberry cake was served.  So, .... adding to the growing throng of inquisitive voices....

What gives?! ;-)

I'm having a Mandela Effect here...I feel like I've eaten one, but can't place it...maybe like one of those loaf things? But that doesn't really count!

I once mixed a scone recipe and a banana bread recipe, and though I still call it "scone" it probably isn't recognizable as such. Anyway, any fruit will do. I sometimes make it savory with chopped up tomato too. The universal breakfast.

1 tbsp baking soda, 1/2tsp salt, 1c whole wheat flour, 1c all purpose flour, 2/3c oats, 2/3c corn flour, 1/3c cocoa powder, 1/3c sugar, some chocolate chips and some raisins if making chocolate; or leave out the cocoa and chocolate and add lemon zest and ginger maybe, for variety.
liquids: mash up three ripe bananas (or mash up a can of pears or even fruit cocktail in a pinch; certainly a cup or two of blueberries would be fine!), add some flavors: a tbsp of vanilla, some almond extract, I like 2 tbsp molasses.
1/2 c canola oil and 1 c water. Or in the holidays, a cup or so of cream to replace equal volume of oil and water, and more water as needed to make the dough manageable. Blend dry ingredients, then add combined liquids to make batter that isn't runny - about peanut butter consistency. 12 lumps on a cookie sheet, pressed to about 3/4 inch thick. Bake at 375-400F 20 minutes.
This is a very flexible recipe in most respects, only do not add too much salt or sugar. If the bananas are very ripe or you are using other very sweet fruit, maybe leave out the sugar altogether. I keep them refrigerated.

I seem to recall hearing on a cooking show that the cake batter is so thin that the berries sink to the bottom and it's one oozing wet soggy mess

Almond Thompson wrote:I seem to recall hearing on a cooking show that the cake batter is so thin that the berries sink to the bottom and it's one oozing wet soggy mess

I was wondering if it was something like that. But the pics I've seen in the recipes don't seem to suffer from this, and I suppose such a thing might not even be an issue in a bundt cake, possibly even a bonus to have them all settle on top (as long as it didn't fall apart when flipping it over).  I really like the pic in this recipe: https://cookiesandcups.com/sour-cream-blueberry-bundt-cake/. The texture looks just like what I would want. Though I'm thinking instead of a sugar butter icing I would like a simple syrup with pureed blueberries in it. I want a blueberry overload. It would probably have to be put on at serving time to prevent becoming soggy (in the quantities I'm thinking) or if used sparingly it might be put on all at once. Or possibly thicken it enough with cornstarch that it might not soak in too much. I also wonder about a solidifying dark chocolate being drizzled on top.

Jordan Holland wrote:

Almond Thompson wrote:I seem to recall hearing on a cooking show that the cake batter is so thin that the berries sink to the bottom and it's one oozing wet soggy mess

I was wondering if it was something like that. But the pics I've seen in the recipes don't seem to suffer from this,....

The recipe in the link looks suspiciously like a to-die-for coffee cake my mother used to make out of an Amish cookbook.  The batter is relatively thick and firm since there is an abundance of butter and little extra water.  She added apple slices and 'dots' of a butter/brown sugar mix that no-way would sink in that batter.  I'm thinking this would be a good recipe for you to try with the blueberries. (Now I'm thinking about that stash of Juneberries in the freezer from last summer!.....)

Aren't blueberry muffins are pretty much icingless cupcakes?
Couldn't you bake that same batter in cake pans?

What I make and see mostly around here is blueberry loaf, typically with lemon.
It is closer to a pound cake batter, so it can handle and maintain the blueberries in suspension. Not too sweet, since the berries are sweet. Usually glazed rather than iced with a plain or lemon glaze. Works best with fresh rather than frozen so more of a summer thing.

William Bronson wrote:Aren't blueberry muffins are pretty much icingless cupcakes?
Couldn't you bake that same batter in cake pans?

I've seen a wide variety of recipes for blueberry muffins, and I bet some of them would work. But I'm not sure which ones. Some are quite decadent, and some are rather bland with little sugar. A muffin has a lot of crust around it for its size, which can affect the taste and help hold it together. I'm not sure how that translates into scaling up.

Dian Green wrote:What I make and see mostly around here is blueberry loaf, typically with lemon.
It is closer to a pound cake batter, so it can handle and maintain the blueberries in suspension. Not too sweet, since the berries are sweet. Usually glazed rather than iced with a plain or lemon glaze. Works best with fresh rather than frozen so more of a summer thing.

I've noticed most recipes want to pair blueberries with lemon. I had to actually add -lemon to my search to filter them out. I can see the appeal, but I really like the taste of pure blueberry. It's one flavor that to my taste buds doesn't need pairing. I don't even put butter on blueberry muffins, lol.

I asked Mr. Google who said there are lots of recipes, here are just two:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7358/melt-in-your-mouth-blueberry-cake/

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/273697/fresh-blueberry-lemon-cake/

I make a cinnamon blueberry cornbread...very good.

I have noticed that commercial high bush blueberries have suffered recently of "size bloat" like strawberries did a decade or two ago. Yes, it keeps the cost of picking down.

However, if you want a nice berry for putting in a cake, wild blueberries from Nova Scotia or Northern Ontario are awesome. The are much smaller, so the distribution issues will likely be lower. Unfortunately, we can get them where I now live, so my experience baking with wild blueberries is several decades old.

I just checked. A frozen blueberry floats in water and when thawed it sank. So, density is not too different from water. I made the batter from the recipe listed above. There was no chance of things sinking or floating from what I saw, lol. It was more of a paste that had to be spread into the pan. Though the ingredients were a bit cold here in my house, so it would likely have been thinner if I had made it in summer. Even though, I don't think this recipe will have any settling issues.

I think berry sinking issues offer an opportunity for extra flavor/ texture.
By baking very thin layers of cake, you could be certain how the berries would be vertically distributed, you would have more crust, and more places to put icing.

I've given up on growing blueberries at my place, but I am hoping to get plenty of honeyberries going forward, so I'm following this thread with great interest.

I did some internet sleuthing, apparently you should toss the blueberries in flour to reduce sinking berries in batter. Interesting...

The cake was a hit! It was every bit as delicious as I had hoped. It was definitely reminiscent of blueberry muffins, but a bit different. When the batter warmed, there was some settling after all. Most berries sank to the bottom half, maybe bottom third, but did not make a soggy mess. However, I was using a new Pampered Chef ceramic bundt pan which was not the best idea. It was quite rough, and I had no experience with it, and the surplus of blueberries weakened the cake enough that quite a bit stuck and tore loose. I followed the directions that said to just oil the pan. I think coating with flour would likely have been better. Or just use a slicker pan. But I did like the majority of blueberries being on the top. It gave an impressive look, and I think it could help prevent any sogginess compared to leaving them on the bottom where they would be against the platter.

I made a syrup of one cup each of sugar, water, and blueberries and a little vanilla and ran it through a blender for a few seconds after boiling it. It was a bit runny, so next time I would add a little cornstarch to thicken it. All in all, definitely worth it.

William Bronson wrote:
I've given up on growing blueberries at my place, but I am hoping to get plenty of honeyberries going forward, so I'm following this thread with great interest.

I've had haskap berries for several years and have mostly used blueberry recipes for them. While they do work generally, there are a few things to keep in mind. My haskap were older types and much less sweet than the blues so you might need to add a bit more sugar to some things. They are also quite a bit less dense so they don't sink but can leave voids in the finished goods.
Due to the reduced density, I would also tend to add more than the called for amount of blues. Usually close to double.
For jams and sauces, they are a great addition or filler berry, but don't have as strong a flavour as blueberries so I tend to mix a few other fruits with them. They are strongly coloured and fully break down so they do look great in those things!

The other berry that also works great in pretty much all blueberry recipes is black raspberries. The ones we had are not very good fresh but very tasty when cooked and in size and density, they are close to the smaller blues so are big winners in those recipes. I find them easier to grow so I haven't bothered to keep trying with the blueberries.

My kid has made a killing selling black raspberry muffins at the farmers markets, they are delicious!
I was hoping honeyberries would be even more tart than blueberries, but more abundance is enough.

William Bronson wrote:Aren't blueberry muffins are pretty much icingless cupcakes?
Couldn't you bake that same batter in cake pans?

If it's not diverting the thread too much, I would like to know the difference here as I make many quick-bread type items like muffins.  But when it comes to cakes...including cupcakes....I reach for the pre-mix box at the grocers.  Are cupcakes or devil's food cake difficult to make from scratch?  I'm thinking most people would be able to tell the difference between muffin and cake just by texture, even if blindfolded.  Do others feel this and is there much difference in the batter composition?  Thanks!

If it's not diverting the thread too much, I would like to know the difference here as I make many quick-bread type items like muffins.  But when it comes to cakes...including cupcakes....I reach for the pre-mix box at the grocers.  Are cupcakes or devil's food cake difficult to make from scratch?  I'm thinking most people would be able to tell the difference between muffin and cake just by texture, even if blindfolded.  Do others feel this and is there much difference in the batter composition?  Thanks!

Imho, the line between muffin and cupcake can be a little vague. Mainly, the cupcakes are sweeter, have a higher fat content and a finer crumb. The muffins are bigger, tougher and have larger air pockets. I also tend to have pieces of fruit or nuts in the muffins while the cupcakes would have fruit purée, for flavour/colour, at most.
Muffins also don't get iced. Maybe they will have some sugar or crumble on top, but that's it. Cupcakes will have icing or glaze.
Most of the recipes I use for cakes or cupcakes are not much harder than muffins but they are a bit more sensitive. Most muffins get their leavening from baking powder or soda, hence the rougher air pockets. This is an easy and reliable way that is fast and, so long as you don't overmix it, hard to fail at.
The cakes often use more eggs and that along with the higher fat content can make them a bit more fiddly about keeping their rise. ( mainly that they can end up falling if the temp gets interrupted or they get shaken during cooking, so no opening the oven!)

Sometimes I take the older blueberry jam and use it up by making a standard 2 egg cake mix and swirling it through.  Just a way to get rid of the excess jam.  Don’t know of anyone else doing that.   2 cups flour, 2 tsp. Baking powder, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla extract, 1/2 sticks melted butter, butter the cake pans or better yet, use a Bundt type pan so it is easier to swirl The jam through.  Pour in half the batter, have the jam smashed up a bit, and make a circle with it, then rest of batter, swirl lightly with spatula through pan.  350 degrees F. For 45 minutes for a Bundt pan or until lightly browned on top and pulling away from sides of pan.  Let cool before dislodging over a plate.   The sugar is reduced due to the sugar in the jam making it very sweet.  Could also make it into muffins.  Those wild blueberries are more nutrient dense than domestic varieties, but much smaller.