Blueberry Bitter Cream Espresso Cake

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Hello Daring Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My lush Blueberry Bitter Cream Espresso Cake is the moist snack cake of your goals. This decadently dense, super-flavorful deal with places grocery store espresso desserts to disgrace! 

• Juicy blueberries: Blueberries are in season, so when you have recent, go for it, however frozen berries will work fantastic.
• Buttery streusel: Crunchy, toasty streusel is so irresistible.
• Luxurious: Bitter cream elevates this cake’s texture to the subsequent stage, and lemon glaze is knowledgeable of completion.
• Residence bakery vibes: Get excited—your kitchen goes to odor like buttery, brown-sugar-cinnamon blueberries.
• Doesn’t take lengthy! We’re speaking lower than half an hour of prep time, and simply 45 minutes within the oven.

When you’ve received a bounty of recent blueberries, that is the recipe to succeed in for! There’s one thing so satisfying about baking with seasonal fruit—particularly blueberries at their peak. They’re juicy, candy with a bit tart edge, and have that lovely, aromatic notice that makes them shine in baked items. However don’t rely out frozen blueberries! Since they’re picked and flash-frozen at peak ripeness, they’re stuffed with taste and infrequently extra reasonably priced. I at all times preserve a stash in my freezer for smoothies, crisps, muffins, pie, and fast breads!

I like utilizing bitter cream in my baking! It’s my not-so-secret secret for creating desserts which might be extremely moist, tender, and stuffed with taste. I examined this espresso cake a number of occasions and located that its style and texture truly enhance if it’s baked the day earlier than serving. Bonus: it freezes superbly too. I as soon as introduced a frozen one to my son’s college—simply defrosted it in a single day, wrapped it in foil, and warmed it in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 20 minutes. It tasted prefer it had simply come out of the oven!

Desk of Contents

What’s Blueberry Bitter Cream Espresso Cake?

• A Blueberry Bitter Cream Espresso Cake is a one-layer cake with a fruit and streusel topping.
  • This pound cake-style dessert is wealthy and moist, due to the addition of bitter cream, which contributes each fats and moisture and softens the gluten.
  • Baking this cake in a springform pan retains the topping neat and makes the cake simple to take away, slice, and serve after baking.
  • Juicy blueberries and buttery, candy cinnamon streusel add further taste and texture.
  • A easy glaze supplies a citrus end and an elegant presentation.
• Bitter cream espresso cake has its roots in European yeast-based desserts like streuselkuchen. When baking powder and bitter cream turned extensively used within the Thirties in U.S. kitchens, these faster varieties of candy crumb desserts turned a preferred staple for casual gatherings, bake gross sales, snacks, and breakfast.

Key Components and Substitutes

For the Streusel Topping

All-purpose flour

• The all-purpose flour supplies construction for the streusel.
• Substitute: Rather than the all-purpose flour, use an equal quantity of almond flour. Word that your streusel might be barely softer and richer, with a delicate nutty style.
  • Moreover, a gluten-free possibility, use an equal quantity of 1:1 gluten-free baking combine.

Darkish brown sugar

• Darkish brown sugar provides the streusel caramel sweetness.
• Importantly, molasses at the hours of darkness brown sugar retains the streusel from getting dry.
• Make your individual darkish brown sugar with my fast and easy recipe.
• Substitute: Use an equal quantity of gentle brown sugar.

Granulated sugar

• Granulated sugar contributes to the streusel’s sweetness.
• Importantly, granulated sugar provides the topping a pretty, crunchy, crumbly texture.
• Substitute: You need to use an equal quantity of coconut sugar as an alternative to the granulated sugar.

Cinnamon

• Cinnamon provides the streusel heat and a scrumptious complexity.
• Substitute: Use half cinnamon and half cardamom so as to add a citrus notice.

Salt

• Salt is important to steadiness out the sweetness and preserve the cake from tasting flat..

Butter

• Melted butter permits the streusel to type crumbles for this blueberry espresso cake with bitter cream.
• Considerably, butter provides fats, moisture, and wealthy taste.
• Substitute: You need to use an equal quantity of melted coconut oil. Word that this may give the streusel a delicate coconut taste.

For the Bitter Cream Cake

All-purpose flour

• All-purpose flour provides your espresso cake construction whereas nonetheless having a young crumb.
• As well as, flour is important in a streusel espresso cake as a result of the cake needs to be sturdy sufficient to help the topping.  Utilizing cake flour would lead to a cake that’s too delicate, and utilizing bread flour would lead to a more durable cake.
• Substitute: For a gluten-free cake, use an equal quantity of 1:1 gluten-free baking combine, reminiscent of my Simple Almond Flour Baking Combine or one other gluten-free flour, as a substitute of all-purpose flour.

Baking powder

• Baking powder provides baked items a managed rise, which supplies a steady construction.
• Because of this, baking powder prevents blueberry espresso cake from being heavy and dense.

Salt

• Salt enhances the opposite components and retains that cake from tasting bland.

Baking soda

• When baking soda is mixed with an acidic ingredient, such because the bitter cream on this recipe, it causes a chemical response, creating carbon dioxide bubbles that make the cake lighter and fluffier.
• Try my information on  Learn how to Make Baking Powder and Baking Soda!

Butter

• Butter provides this bitter cream blueberry espresso cake deep taste and excellent texture.
• The butter and sugar are creamed to aerate the batter, which makes the espresso cake lighter and fluffier.
• Importantly, the butter coats the flour, inhibiting extreme gluten formation. This retains the cake from being powerful.
• Utilizing room-temperature butter is vital right here. Try my simple tricks to soften butter the proper approach.
• Substitute: You need to use an equal quantity of vegetable oil or melted coconut oil.
  • Word that utilizing oil as a substitute of butter will yeild a cake completely different in style and texture than a cake constructed from the unique recipe.

Granulated sugar

• Granulated sugar sweetens the cake.
• Importantly, the granulated sugar locks in moisture, which helps the cake keep moist.
• Substitutes: See my Sugar Substitute Chart for various sweetener concepts.
  • Maple syrup, honey, or one other various, reminiscent of coconut sugar, would work effectively on this recipe.

Egg

• The egg is an emulsifier that binds the cake batter components right into a homogeneous batter.
• Importantly, make sure to use a room-temperature egg right here so it mixes easily with the opposite components. Right here’s find out how to heat up eggs from the fridge safely.
• Substitute: You need to use a flaxseed egg instead of the common egg. Combine one tablespoon of floor flaxseed plus three tablespoons of water, and put aside for five minutes earlier than including to the cake batter.

Bitter cream

• Bitter cream is fermented cream that’s thickened and made tangy by lactic acid micro organism. In contrast to butter with about 82% fats and accommodates little water, bitter cream has 18 p.c milkfat, which makes baked items each wealthy and moist.
• Importantly, the bitter cream tenderizes the gluten, contributing to a melt-in-your-mouth texture and serving to to stop toughness.
• Moreover, bitter cream provides a stunning tang.
• Additionally, as a result of bitter cream is acidic, so it reacts with the baking soda, giving the cake raise.
• You’ll be able to make your individual bitter cream to make use of on this recipe and in numerous different methods.
• Substitute: You need to use an equal quantity of full-fat yogurt instead of the bitter cream. The cake won’t be fairly as wealthy, and the flavour might be a bit tangier, however it is going to nonetheless be scrumptious.

Vanilla extract

Blueberries

• Contemporary blueberries deliver juiciness to this bitter cream snack cake.
• Moreover, their vibrant, sweet-tart taste is a superb distinction to the wealthy cake.
• Additionally, berries’ beautiful indigo-blue coloration provides visible curiosity to this espresso.
• Frozen blueberries additionally work effectively on this recipe.
• Substitute: You need to use an equal quantity of raspberries, however recent raspberries are really helpful as a result of frozen may be too watery.
  • You may as well use an equal quantity of peeled, chopped apples. Select a crisp selection, reminiscent of Granny Smith.

Cornstarch

• Cornstarch thickens the blueberry juices because the cake bakes, leading to a pleasantly saucy topping.
• Importantly, the cornstarch helps maintain the berries collectively and retains them from turning into too runny or sinking into the batter.

Lemon zest

• Lemon zest accentuates the blueberries completely, and brings a vibrant notice that performs off the candy, wealthy cake.

For the Lemon Glaze

Powdered sugar

• Powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) creates a candy, easy, shiny glaze.
• Be sure that to sift powdered sugar earlier than utilizing it, or your glaze received’t be easy.
• Additionally, try my information to know Learn how to Make Powdered Sugar so that you alwasy have some available.

Lemon juice

• Mixing lemon juice with powdered sugar makes a full-flavored glaze that’s citrusy and candy, however not cloying.
• Moreover, lemon juice doesn’t uninteresting the colour of the powdered sugar.

Learn how to Make Blueberry Bitter Cream Espresso Cake

Put together to Bake

1. Preheat and put together pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and butter and line with parchment the underside of a 9″ (23 cm) springform pan.  Put aside.

Make the Streusel Topping

2. Combine dry components: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt.

3. Add butter: Stir within the melted butter till the combination clumps collectively. Refrigerate till prepared to make use of.

To Make the Cake

4. Mix dry components: In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Put aside.
5. Cream butter and sugar: Cream the butter and sugar within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a big bowl and a handheld electrical mixer) on medium-high pace till pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

6. Add moist components: Decrease the pace to medium and add within the egg, adopted by the bitter cream and vanilla extract and blend to mix.

7. Combine in flour: Decrease the mixer pace to low and stir within the flour combination in two additions till simply mixed.

8. Put batter in pan: Unfold the batter into the ready pan.

9. Put together blueberries: In a medium bowl, mix the blueberries with the cornstarch and lemon zest, then sprinkle this over the cake batter.

10. Add streusel topping and bake: Crumble the streusel topping over the blueberries, then bake on a rimmed baking sheet for 45-50 minutes, or till a toothpick within the middle comes out clear.

11. Cool and serve: Permit the cake to chill for about 1 hour at room temperature, then launch the edges and switch to a serving plate.

Glaze and Serve

12. In a small bowl, whisk collectively the powdered sugar and lemon juice, then drizzle this over the cake. Let it set for about 10 minutes earlier than serving.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW!

Gemma’s Professional Chef Ideas

• Streusel crunch: When you like nuts, you’ll be able to add ½ cup of finely chopped walnuts or pecans to the streusel topping.
• Temperature issues: When making desserts, at all times be certain that your components are at room temperature for the perfect outcomes.
• Pan tip: Springform pans can leak butter and trigger your oven to smoke. All the time bake springform desserts on a rimmed baking sheet to keep away from this.
• Citrus enhance: If you wish to enhance the lemon taste within the cake, add 2 tablespoons of lemon zest to the batter if you find yourself creaming the butter and sugar.
• Berry swap: You’ll be able to exchange the blueberries with raspberries to make a raspberry espresso cake!

Make Forward and Storage Directions

• Make-ahead ideas:
  • You may make the streusel a day prematurely. Retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as two days.
  • Make cake, place in an hermetic container, and retailer at room temperature for as much as three days.
  • For extra prolonged storage, wrap the baked, cooled cake effectively, and freez for as much as 4 weeks.
  • Defrost within the fridge in a single day, after which cowl in foil and rerefresh in a 300°F oven for 15-20 minutes.
• Learn how to retailer leftovers: Retailer leftovers lined at room temperature for as much as three days.

FAQs

Can I make this bitter cream cake with out an egg?

• Sure, you can also make this bitter cream cake with out an egg.
• On this recipe, you should utilize a flaxseed egg instead of the common egg. Combine one tablespoon of floor flaxseed plus three tablespoons of water, and put aside for five minutes earlier than including to the cake batter.

How do I make this cake gluten-free?

• To make this blueberry espresso cake recipe gluten-free, substitute the all-purpose flour within the cake with an equal quantity of 1:1 gluten-free baking combine like my Simple Almond Flour Baking Combine or one other gluten-free flour.
• Moreover, within the streusel, use an equal quantity of almond flour as a substitute of all-purpose common flour.
• Lastly, be sure that the opposite components are licensed gluten-free.

What are some tricks to make a espresso cake with the proper texture, and never mushy or dry?

Following the directions will provide you with a espresso cake with the proper texture. Right here’s what to be careful for:

• Watery blueberries might make the cake mushy or too delicate. Remember to use cornstarch with the berries to soak up extra liquid.
  • Moreover, sprinkle the berries on prime of the batter and don’t combine them in.
  • Use the really helpful quantity of berries—don’t overdo it!
  • Be sure that a toothpick inserted within the middle of the cake comes out clear earlier than eradicating it from the oven.
• Not measuring accurately or retaining the cake within the oven in too lengthy can lead to a dry cake.
  • Fastidiously measure dry components earlier than including.
• It’s vital to not overmix—cease when the flour combination is simply mixed.
• Lastly, preserve your eye on the timer and take care to not preserve the cake in overbake.

How can I forestall my blueberries from sinking into the cake or bleeding into the batter?

• Tossing the berries with cornstarch is important. The cornstarch absorbs the surplus moisture and prevents the berries from sinking.
• Gently sprinkle the blueberries to the batter—don’t combine them in.
• If utilizing frozen berries, use them proper from the freezer in order that they don’t thaw and make the batter streaky.

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