Rake, bake and devour cake until you’re blue in the face

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Fourteen recipes for blueberry cake arrived on my desk in response to my query for a well-flavored, not-too-sweet sort. I wish I could report that there were a couple basic versions of the cake, but no, the proportions of flour, sugar, butter, and even the amount of blueberries varied all over the place. Vanilla was a common flavoring, though nutmeg had its adherents and one called for cinnamon.

The only thing that seemed common to several was a sugar and cinnamon topping sprinkled over before baking. One recipe said frost as you wish, another suggested cream cheese frosting. A couple recommended a streusel-type topping and one lemon sauce, and another old-fashioned recipe called for nutmeg sauce.

There were, additionally, a couple of intriguing recipes, one for blueberry lemon pound cake, one for blueberry gingerbread and another for blueberry posset, all of which I set aside for trying another time. (Many thanks to Sharon Frost in Calais, Bonnie Jardin in Cherryfield and Nonni Daley in Old Town who supplied those.) All in all I had quite a blueberry cake education.

A few readers dug around in grandmother’s or mother’s recipe collections. Nancy Jordan of Otis found among her family’s stuff a 60- to 70-year-old recipe from a baking powder company, now forgotten. Cheryl Spencer from Old Town sent along her mother’s more than 40-year-old recipe. Genevieve Delicata of Prospect got her recipe from her sister who picked it up from their grandmother. Jan Dodge, who has family connections to my town of Islesboro, sent her mom’s recipe, one cut out of an old newspaper, possibly the good old Bangor Daily News. Sandra Tibbetts in Brewer shared a recipe she obtained from a neighbor. A couple of folks found recipes in community cookbooks. Sonya Savage of Enfield found hers in a 1964 “Pilgrim Daughter’s Cookbook” from the Lincoln Congregational Church. Jan found one in the “Ashville Community Church Cook Book.” Even Margaret Chase Smith’s recipe got into the act, one that Ruth Thurston had collected along the way.

For June Jandreau in St. Francis, thinking about blueberry cake reminded her of “going to pick blueberries with Grammie so she could make this delicious cake. It seems to have taken forever to pick the two cups of berries because they were so small.” Her recipe was passed down four generations.

Jan Dodge wrote her observation that recipes have three levels: “one, the recipe [itself], two, who it’s from and their story behind it and, three, where I was consuming something so delicious I asked for the recipe and the story of how our paths crossed!! So sad that levels two and three can’t be included in each of our recipe collections to make family history more interesting!”

Well, maybe we can all take a minute or two to jot down some of that information when we write down recipes that we pick up from friends and older relatives. I will if you will.

One little wrinkle that emerged was separating the eggs and beating the whites to fold into the cake. Ruth Thurston of Machias and Jan Dodge both sent recipes that instructed us to do that, and it really does make it nice. Another was the streusel topping.

Eva Murray over on Matinicus, who makes this cake at her bakery, and June Jandreau both sent recipes for sugar, butter and cinnamon to sprinkle on top. My husband, Jamie, really liked that, so I think I might make it a regular feature of future blueberry cakes around here, even though it makes you think of coffee cake.

I couldn’t resist trying the nutmeg sauce recipe that my island neighbor Sharon McCorison’s mother sent with her recipe from “Dot.” It made a very, very sweet sauce, and I liked the nutmeg in it, but I think I would prefer a lemon sauce for the blueberry cake if I were going to have any sauce for it.

We also had a blueberry conversation. Some said frozen berries were OK to use, but others specified fresh only in order to avoid the Dreaded Blue Batter. Eva said if you use frozen, add them frozen so the batter won’t get discolored. Blueberry grower Linda Long cautioned that if you use frozen berries be sure to bake the cake a little longer and test for doneness. Good point.

So what did I learn? Less sugar, separate the eggs, and use butter, at least half a stick to three-quarters of a cup of sugar. Use what berries you have but aim for 11/2 to 2 cups per 8 by 8- or 9 by 9-inch pan. Put streusel on top if you feel expansive or want a coffee cake, but cinnamon sugar is just fine for a simple dessert cake (and beats the chocolate icing I put on a blueberry cake years and years ago before I understood what you really ought to do).

P.S. I have been invited to do a chowder making demonstration at the American Folk Festival next weekend. I will be at the Taste of Traditions foodways stage from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday both. I don’t expect many of you need to learn how to make a chowder, but I would be tickled pink to meet you if you cared to show up. Maybe you will have some advice for me as I go along building a chowder. See you there.

Blueberry Cake

Yields one 8 by 8- or 9 by 9-inch cake

? cup butter (one stick)

? cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

? cup milk

1? to 2 cups blueberries, floured

Topping

? cup butter

1/3 cup flour

? cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Prepare topping first by cutting ingredients together with a fork. Cream together butter and sugar and beat in egg yolks. Add vanilla. Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Sift together flour and baking powder and add to butter and sugar mixture alternately with milk. Fold in whites and gently add berries. Distribute topping or just sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake in an 8 by 8- or 9 by 9-inch greased and floured pan at 350 for 40 minutes, longer if berries are frozen.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.