When Life Hands You Blueberries...

     Before church yesterday, I made blueberry pancakes, that I blogged about yesterday, as well as a blueberry cake and blueberry muffins for Wren.  It was amazing what the gift of a quart of blueberries can do to inspire you!  The cake was for a going away dinner for Arnauld's brother, Weethne's, girlfriend Molly (that's a mouthful!).  She is going away to vet school at Davis in California.  We couldn't be prouder of her!  I used applesauce in place of the oil, which may have made the cake a little drier than I hoped.  It ended up tasting like a blueberry muffin in cake form.  I'm just starting to play with using healthier substitutes like applesauce and yogurt.  I'll have to keep mucking about.

Blueberry Lemon Cake 
Recipe Adapted from A Quiet Life Blog (a very pretty blog!)

Ingredients
Cake
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup yogurt
3 tbsp canola oil (this is where I used the same amount of applesauce)
2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 to 2 1/2 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Prepare a 9 inch springform pan or 9 inch square pan by spraying or greasing.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, oil/applesauce, lemon peel, lemon juice, and egg using a whisk.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients before transferring to your prepared pan. Spread the batter so that it is even and then sprinkle with almonds.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Mix the glaze by combining all of the ingredients until smooth.  It should be thin enough to drizzle over the cake while it is still warm.

Blueberry Muffins
Recipe Adapted from Two Coast Table

Ingredients
2 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup blueberries
2 tbsp grated lemon rind
3 tbsp sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Prepare muffin tin by spraying or lining with paper cups.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of lemon rind.
3.  Beat together the bananas, eggs, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and lemon juice.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and then fold in the blueberries.
5. Fill the muffin tin until almost full.
6. In a small bowl combine the remaining lemon rind and sugar.  Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with this mixture.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.