A Marriage of Taste

One Saturday during our weekly poker night my father brought a chocolate cheese cake that had blueberry topping. I remember thinking what an interesting combination; I had never thought to put blueberries with chocolate before. Well let me tell you all it took was one bite and I knew that this was a marriage made in heaven. I could not get over how incredible those two flavors comingled on my palate. Ever since then I have been trying to come up with different ways to bring these two meant to be ingredients together.

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

1 stick butter
1 c. sugar
2 lg. eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. sour cream
2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped nuts
3/4 c. dark chocolate chips (whatever you prefer)

Cream together first 3 ingredients. Add vanilla. Sift and mix the dry ingredients together. To creamed mixture, add alternately with sour cream. (Save a little of the flour to coat the blueberries before mixing, so they will not sink to the bottom).
Prepare topping from the 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup nuts. Spoon 1/2 of the batter into greased Bundt pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the topping, all the chocolate chips and blueberries. Spoon in the remaining batter. Cover with the remaining topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and cool.

photo/Lorilea/flickr

What's for Breakfast?

No matter what you decide to flavor your pancakes with you can never go wrong with ricotta cheese in your pancake batter. The ricotta adds richness and a lighter quality to your pancake. Whole milk or part skim ricotta is totally up to you, whichever one you choose will not alter the taste, the only difference will be the number of calories.

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 eggs

3/4 cup water

1 tsp lemon zest

1 pkg (6 oz) frozen blueberries or fresh if you have them.

Stir all ingredients together. Over medium heat, warm greased griddle 5 minutes. Using 1/4 cup measure, pour batter onto griddle. Cook 4 minutes or until golden, turning once. Repeat. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.

A little Bit of Blue to Brighten Your Day

I’m a really big fan of blueberries and this recipe is just another easy and delicious way to use this amazing fruit. This is great sliced and toasted with a little or a lot of butter.

Blueberry Loaf Cake

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, separated

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 pint blueberries

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the beaten egg yolk. Add the milk, alternating with the sifted flour and baking powder. Stir in the vanilla.

Last, gently fold in the whites beaten to a stiff froth.

Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan in a preheated 375°F oven until cake tests done (about 35 to 45 minutes).
Remove cake from pan by running a knife along edges. Spread a little butter over the top of the cake while it is still warm, and sprinkle with granulated sugar.