Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Sister came down early to celebrate Mother’s Day, so we had our Mother’s Day brunch a day early.  When we were growing up Sister and I would make breakfast in bed for Mom.  So breakfast foods are our traditional celebration.  This year Mom requested this herbed ricotta tart, and something fruity for dessert (because it’s brunch you totally get a brunch dessert, right?)  So after a bit of Pinterest browsing we settled on this recipe.  It’s a great recipe!  This is the perfect amount of sweet and tart, with a great crumb and a slightly sweet crust.  The blueberries, burst with purple deliciousness and balance wonderfully with the lemon zest that gives this cake a fresh, vibrant taste.

Thanks, Mom for all that you do.  You’re absolutely amazing.  And you have excellent taste in cake 🙂

Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

Serves 4-6

Adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large lemon, zested
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (plus a Tbsp for sprinkling on top)
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (1/4 reserved for tossing with blueberries)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8×8″ pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Cream butter with lemon zest until light, add sugar and continuing beating until fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Toss blueberries with 1/4 cup flour (this keeps the berries from sinking).  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Alternate adding in the flour and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Be careful to only mix until just combined after each addition.  Fold in the blueberries.

Pour batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with a little sugar.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Serve and enjoy!

Smoked Turkey and Cheese Brunch Torte

This was an awesome recipe my mom found in Taste of Home years ago and she’s been eager to make it ever since.  Easter’s potluck breakfast was finally her opportunity, and it was awesome!  Sadly she didn’t even get a chance to try her creation, so I made it again so she’d get to try it.  This is definitely a great standby and would be just as good made vegetarian with some extra spinach and mushrooms or whatever vegetables you have on hand (asparagus?  roasted butternut squash? sautéed cabbage?).  When I made this I used one layer of provolone and one layer of smoked Gouda which was delicious and added extra smokiness.

Next time I plan to try it with a lot more spinach, the recipe only called for 6oz, but I used a full package of spinach and still didn’t think it was enough.  I’ll also try this next time with 1/2 egg whites just to lighten it up a bit and because the egg is not a major flavor, so I think it’d be fine with egg whites substituted in.

Smoked Turkey and Cheese Brunch Tort

Serves 8

Adapted from Taste of Home (April/May 2011)

• 2 tubes (8oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 pkgs (or more) fresh baby spinach
• 1 pkg (8oz) fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 7 eggs
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 lb thinly sliced smoked turkey
• 1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese
• 24 oz jar of roasted sweet red peppers, drained, sliced and patted dry

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Place a greased 9″ springform pan on a double layer of heavy duty foil.  Wrap pan securely with foil.

Open one tube of crescent rolls and shape to press into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet sauté mushrooms in olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once mushrooms have had a chance to brown, add in the spinach and toss together until spinach has wilted.  Remove to a paper towel to drain and pat dry before using.

In a large bowl, whisk together 6 eggs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper.

Layer the prepared crust with half the turkey,cheese, red peppers, spinach, mushrooms, and egg mixture.  Repeat layers.

Use the remaining tube of crescent rolls to form a crust on top.  Beat the remaining egg and brush over the dough.

Bake for 45 minutes, then cover with foil if it’s browning too quickly, and let cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.  Carefully run a sharp knife around the edge to loosen.  Let stand for 10-20 minutes before slicing (the longer the better…I have no patience for letting food sit, so you can see how oozy delicious it is hot).  Serve hot or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

So blueberries are back in the stores!  Yippee!  I adore fresh blueberries, and couldn’t resist the temptation to buy some on a whim when I saw them last week.  So glad I did.  They’re fresh and bright, sweet and delicious, and the perfect taste of spring to keep me going through these ridiculously cold weeks we’ve been having.

In addition to eating them fresh from the carton, I whipped up a batch of blueberry pancakes, to really indulge with this fruity delight.

I also made a blueberry sauce with frozen berries to serve on top.

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

Serves 4-6

Adapted from Crepes of Wrath

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 cup (or more) fresh blueberries
• 1 Tbsp flour, for the blueberries

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.  Separate the eggs, placing egg whites in a medium bowl, and egg yolks in a large bowl.  Add milk, vanilla, olive oil, and lemon zest to the bowl with the egg yolks, and whisk until well mixed.  Mix into the dry ingredients until just combined.  Then beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form (it’ll look like whipped cream).  In a small bowl, toss blueberries with flour and fold into the batter.  Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter, leaving it kind of chunky from the egg whites, which will make super soft and fluffy pancakes.

Preheat griddle to 350°, or heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Lightly grease with cooking spray.  Scoop batter (about 1/3 cup each) onto hot griddle.  When bubble start to form on top, flip the pancakes and allow to cook for another minute or two.  Remove from pan and add next batch.  Serve with blueberry sauce and/or maple syrup.

Blueberry Sauce

• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar (or more to taste)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

In a small saucepan, bring water and cornstarch to a simmer, mixing well until cornstarch dissolves.  Add sugar and blueberries and bring to a boil.  Press blueberries against the side of the pot with a spatula to help them burst as they heat up.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until thickened.

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

This might be my new favorite breakfast!  It’s nice and chewy, the toasted nuts are delicious, the apples stay firm, the spices are subtle but warm.  This didn’t really hold its shape, but I’m not concerned with looks as long as it tastes good!  Next time I’ll probably just make this in a 9×9″ baking dish instead of a pie pan…or maybe double it and make it in a 9×13.  Will definitely be making this again!  It came together quickly and while it takes a while to cook it just encouraged me to get my workout in early in the day–it’s a win-win!

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

Serves 6

Adapted from Nutritious Eats

• 2 apples, peeled and chopped (I used granny smith)
• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Grease a 9 1/2″ pie dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together apples, oats, baking powder, pecans, spices and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, oil, maple syrup and vanilla.  Stir wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.  Carefully pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes.  Cover with foil during the last 5 minutes if the top gets brown quickly.  Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Mother’s Day Brunch

Sister came down for the weekend, for Mother’s day and because I was preaching on Sunday.  After church on Sunday we went to see the Avengers and then had an early dinner at Persimmon.  It was delicious.  On Monday Marian and I made Mother’s Day brunch.  We used to get up really early and make breakfast in bed for Mom before church, but since Sunday was so busy we postponed brunch until Monday.

I recently found a recipe for a Dutch Baby.  I’d always thought you had to have a cast iron skillet to make them, but this recipe said I could use any large skillet.  Mom and Sister are big fans of Dutch Babies, and you just can’t beat the presentation!

This turned out great!  It was light and delicate, crispy and tender.  Mmmm just talking about it makes me want another.  It’s also quite simple to make.  I think you could get this out on the table in 30 minutes.  Make sure you have an audience when you pull it out of the oven!  It’s quite the impressive sight and it sinks quickly (which is supposed to happen).

I made a blueberry syrup to go with the Dutch Baby, but a little lemon and powder sugar is also delicious, or you can try it with Maple Syrup if you like something sweeter.  We had quite the feast with Dutch Baby, fruit salad, asparagus and goat cheese omelets, and shrimp!  A delicious way to celebrate our wonderful Mom!

 

Dutch Baby

Serves 4

Adapted from Cook’s Country

• 1 Tbsp butter (for the pan)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups skim milk
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  Grease large skillet with cooking spray and place 1 Tbsp butter in the pan, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt, whisk until well-mixed.  In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until frothy and light, about 1 minute.  Whisk milk, butter and vanilla into the eggs until incorporated.

Place pan in the oven to warm.

Whisk half the liquids into the dry ingredients until no lumps remain.  Slowly whisk in the remaining wet ingredients until mixture is smooth.

Pour batter into heated pan and bake until edges are deep golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.

Serve right away with a little bit of lemon juice and a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar.