Ingredient: pure maple extract or natural maple flavoring

Wild Blueberry & Maple Breakfast Cake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Wild Blueberry & Maple Breakfast Cake

My personal eating philosophy is to eat everything in moderation. As you may know, I love enjoying desserts on occasion, but in my daily life I try to eat a variety of foods, mostly plants. One of my favorite plant foods, which happen to be loaded with antioxidants, are blueberries. Wild blueberries are especially rich in antioxidants. Wild blueberry season is during the summer, but luckily the frozen ones are available year around. I can happily eat a handful of blueberries, but it’s so much fun to make blueberry recipes too! I reached for my bag of frozen wild blueberries to make this subtly sweet breakfast cake. It reminds me of blueberry muffins or fluffy blueberry pancakes. For this recipe, I topped the cake with whipped cream and homemade Blueberry Maple Syrup, which is perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch. For a more simple, cozy breakfast, try this cake served warm with butter and maple syrup. So delicious and comforting!

Wild Blueberry & Maple Breakfast Cake

Subtly sweet, rustic wild blueberry and maple cake, topped with whipped cream and homemade blueberry maple syrup by Brownie Mischief
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 9

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 1 â…” cups (212g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure maple extract or natural maple flavoring
  • ½ cup (118ml) whole milk, room temperature
  • â…“ cup (75g) sour cream, room temperature
  • 1 cup (142g) wild blueberries, fresh or frozen See note below*

Blueberry Maple Syrup

  • 1 cup (142g) wild blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • ¼ cup (60ml) real maple syrup
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • â…“ cup (78ml) plus 1 tablespoon (15ml) water, divided
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sweetened Whipped Cream

  • ¾ cup (177ml) cold heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons (15g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and maple extract in three additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream until well blended. Stir the flour mixture into the batter by hand, in two additions, followed by half of the milk mixture after each addition. Mix just until combined. Do not over mix. Gently stir in the blueberries.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Blueberry Maple Syrup

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the blueberries, maple syrup, salt and 1/3 cup (78ml) of water until the blueberries are softened, about 3-4 minutes. In a small bowl, create a slurry by whisking together the cornstarch with the remaining 1 tablespoon (15ml) of water. Stir the slurry into the blueberry mixture. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened, about 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

  • In a large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until frothy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue whipping, at medium-high speed, until medium peaks form. Do not over whip. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

*If you're using frozen blueberries, there's no need to defrost them first. Just gently pat them dry with paper towels before adding them to your batter. If your blueberries are very icy, rinse them with cold water, then gently pat them dry with paper towels.
Keyword blueberry, cake

Maple Brown Sugar Madeleines

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Maple Brown Sugar Madeleines

I had tea with with a well mannered hedgehog once on a crisp fall day. He brought me a tiny bouquet of flowers, which I placed in a small jam jar filled with water. He said the delightful maple scent of these Madeleines reminded him of his time in the woods, as a young hoglet. When he had his fill of the delicate little cakes, I wrapped some in a tea towel for his journey home.

As cooler weather approaches, I’m always looking for a little something to enjoy with a warm drink and a good book. Although traditional Madeleines typically remind me of spring, these Maple Brown Sugar Madeleines have a cozy fall feeling. They go well with coffee, tea or hot cocoa. If you want to make them for a friend, make the batter and keep it in the refrigerator. Bake the Madeleines right before your friend arrives.

I used a spherical Madeleine pan to make these maple scented little cakes. The Madeleines made in this pan are a little thicker and fluffier than those made in a traditional oval pan. To find the Madeleine pan I used, click here. You can certainly use a traditional pan if you prefer. Keep in mind that the baking time will be shorter and you will end up with about twice as many.

Maple Brown Sugar Madeleines

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Maple Brown Sugar Madeleines

  • 1 cup (4 oz or 113g) cake flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure maple extract or natural maple flavoring
  • ½ cup (4 oz or 113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Maple Icing

  • 1 cup (4 1/4 oz or 120g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ teaspoon pure maple extract or natural maple flavoring
  • 1-2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (1 oz or 28g) finely chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts

Instructions
 

Maple Brown Sugar Madeleines

  • In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs, brown sugar and maple extract, on medium-high speed with an electric mixer, until the batter is voluminous, light in color and holds its shape when you lift the beater, about 8-10 minutes.
  • Combine the melted butter and maple syrup.
  • Gently fold the the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the melted butter. Fold just until combined, being careful not to deflate the batter. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure that all of the flour is combined.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease a spherical Madeleine pan* with nonstick spray or melted butter. Dust the pan with a light coating of flour. Tap out the excess flour.
  • Fill the wells of the Madeleine pan with batter 3/4 full, about 2 tablespoons each, using a scoop**or a spoon. (If you're using a traditional oval Madeleine pan, fill 3/4 full, about a generous tablespoon of batter in each.)
  • Bake until golden brown around the edges and puffed in the center, about 10-12 minutes. (Baking time for oval Madeleine pan will be about 7-8 minutes.) Do not over bake.
  • Cool in the pan for one minute then turn Madeleines out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Maple Icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, maple extract and one tablespoon of milk. Add additional milk as needed until your desired consistency is reached, Stir in a pinch of salt to taste.
  • Brush icing onto the Madeleines with a pastry brush. Apply nuts to the edges of Madeleines. Serve immediately. Madeleines are best served the day they're baked.

Notes

*To find the Madeleine pan I used, click here.
**To find the scoop I used, click here.
Keyword madeleines, maple