Brooke Dojny’s Blueberry Snack Cake with Toasted Pecan Topping

Brooke started her career as a chef-caterer for Martha Stewart, and contributed to Martha’s first cookbook, “Entertaining”. She went on to write food columns, including “Every Night Cooking” for Bon Apetit and numerous award winning cook books. She lives on the coast of Maine, and that area’s cuisine is near and dear to her. One of her most treasured books is The New England Cookbook, published in 1999 and still used constantly according to the comments on Amazon. (OK – I had to order that one too. This has to stop.)

I made this to reward our Father’s Day hikers…although the hike turned into a water balloon fight and with everyone’s clothes ending up in the dryer we just went straight for the cake. And it’s a winner! The cornmeal adds a bit of texture. The cake is tender and loaded with berries, and the crackly pecan topping adds crunch and flavor. Any fruit would work. I keep stopping by the pan to “even off” the remains!

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbs. cornmeal

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup and 1 tbs. sugar, divided use

2 eggs

1/3 cup whole or low fat milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 cups blueberries

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Using an electric mixer or a food processor, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs, milk,vanilla, and lemon zest and process or beat until smooth. Spoon the flour mixture into the processor or bowl and pulse or beat just until the flour is incorporated. If the batter is in a food processor, transfer it to a large bowl.

Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter and gently fold them in, just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the nuts and then with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake until the nuts are deep brown and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. The cake can be wrapped well and stored at cool room temperature for 1 day, or frozen. Cut into squares or wedges in the pan to serve. Serves 8.

Notes: If you have turbinado sugar, use it for the 1 tablespoon sprinkled over the top. Adds extra crunch. A trick I learned to keep the berries from dropping to the bottom of the batter is to toss them with a bit of flour before adding to the batter.