Recipes>Blueberry Recipes

Blueberry Polenta Butter Cake

by Deb Perelman from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Easy

Makes 16 squares of cake

This easy summer traybake is packed with juicy blueberries and boasts a moist cake crumb thanks to the use of polenta. Perfect for packing up for a picnic.

Discover more delicious Cake recipes

From layer cakes to loaves

From the book

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Deb Perelman

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Delicious inspiration for everyday cooks

Stunning dishes for weekend feasts

Desserts and treats made simple

Buy From

Introduction

A summer later, I was still playing with this cake, and it was time to accept the truth: We just loved it so much that I created excuses to make it some more. It’s that kind of cake-dense and buttery, dotted with dreamy berries, portable, quick to make, and infinitely snacky-and I hope it won’t be long until your version of this page is as spattered with berry and batter as mine.

Tags

Ingredients

115gunsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
125gplain flour, plus more for pan
60gpolenta
2 tspbaking powder
½ tsptable salt
200gsugar
2large eggs
¼ tspvanilla extract
¼ tspfreshly grated lemon zest
80gsoured cream
200gblueberries, rinsed and patted dry
For the topping:
100gsugar
6 tbspplain flour
2 tbsppolenta
¼ tspground cinnamon
pinch oftable salt
30gunsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Essential kit

You will need: a 20cm square tin.

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°/fan 160°C/Gas 4. Line the bottom of a 20cm square tin with parchment, then either butter and flour the bottom and sides, or coat them with a nonstick spray.

Whisk the flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, for at least 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scrap­ing down the bowl between additions, then add the vanilla and zest. Add a third of the flour mixture, all of the soured cream, and another third of the flour, beating until just blended after each addition. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Mix the remaining third of the flour mixture with the blueberries. Fold the blueberry-flour mixture gently into the cake batter.

Spread the cake batter in the prepared cake tin. Use your original dry-ingredients bowl (see how we look out for your dishpan hands?) to combine the dry topping ingredients with a fork. Mash in the butter with your fork, fingertips, or a pastry blender. Scatter the topping over the batter.

Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and the tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool the cake in the tin on a rack for 5 minutes. Run the spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen it, then flip out onto a cooling rack.

Reviews

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Cancel reply

Your review

Name *

Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use .

Be the first to leave a review

Ingredients
Method

More Cake Recipes

View all

Mary Berry’s Wonderful Apple and Almond Cake

by Mary Berry from Mary 90: My Very Best Recipes

Nigella Lawson’s Fairy Cakes

by Nigella Lawson from How To Be A Domestic Goddess

More Recipes from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

View all

Marbled Pumpkin Gingersnap Tart

by Deb Perelman from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Fig, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt Challah Bread

by Deb Perelman from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

More Blueberry Recipes

View all

Decadent Pavlova

by John Torode, Lisa Faulkner from John and Lisa’s Kitchen

Air Fryer Blueberry Muffins

by Lucy Parissi from Easy Air Fryer Bakes

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week