Recipe Review: Natasha's Kitchen - Blueberry Lemon Cake

"Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all, have fun." - Julia Child

Hi everyone! 

I know, it's been a while - a long while. I'm back with a new series which I'm calling "Recipe Review". This will be where I share my thoughts on recipes I find on this wonderful thing we call the internet. 

This first recipe I'm going to be reviewing is a Blueberry Lemon Cake from Natasha's Kitchen. Below you will find her exact shared recipe followed by some thoughts I have.

Blueberry Lemon Cake

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 55 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

This Blueberry Lemon Cake is loaded with 1 pound of blueberries and every bite has sweet pops of juicy blueberry and fresh lemon flavor. It's not too sweet and not too tangy, but just right.

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

Skill Level: Easy

Reviews: 4.7 from 174 reviews (as of 11/3/17)

Cost To Make: $8-$10

Serving: 9" blueberry cake

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (210 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (8oz) sour cream
• ½ cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 medium lemon (zest and juice), divided
• ½ Tbsp corn starch
• 16 oz (450g) fresh** blueberries
• Powdered sugar to dust the top, optional

Instructions

Prep:

• Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment. Preheat Oven to 375˚F.

How to Make Blueberry Lemon Cake:

• Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar with whisk attachment on high speed 5 min, or until light in color and thick.
• Add 1 cup sour cream, ½ cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp salt and whisk on low speed until well combined.
• Whisk together the 2 cups flour with 2 tsp baking powder then add to batter ⅓ at a time, whisking to incorporate with each addition. 
• Finally, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and ½ Tbsp zest.
• Rinse blueberries and drain well. 
• In a medium bowl, toss blueberries with ½ Tbsp corn starch and 1 tsp lemon juice, stirring until well combined and no dry white cornstarch remains.
• Pour half of batter into prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Top with half of the blueberries. Spread with remaining batter then sprinkle the rest of the blueberries evenly over the top, pushing them slightly into the batter (about halfway). 
• Bake at 375˚F for 45 to 55 min (mine was perfect at 55 min), or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
• Let cake rest in the pan 15-20 min then remove ring and cool until room temp or just warm. 
• Serve dusted with powdered sugar.

Notes from Natasha:

• **If using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain then in step #4: toss with 1 Tbsp cornstarch and omit lemon juice. Do not add more than 16 oz blueberries or they weigh down the cake.
• *measure flour by spooning into measuring cup then scraping off the top.

My thoughts

I thought this cake was absolutely delicious. I love this recipe and will definitely be making it again. I took a shot at making this for a work potluck on Halloween. It was either going to turn out really good, or really scary. Get it, scary.. Halloween.. Ha, ha.. Ok, it wan't that funny. Anyway, I did make one update from the recipe, I did about an extra tablespoon worth of fresh lemon juice. I love anything lemon and I love the flavor it adds to pastries/cakes/desserts.

One thing I will do differently next time, is I will not add the powdered sugar until serving time. I did make the cake the evening before and didn't want to have to worry about taking powdered sugar with me to work. Don't get me wrong, it was still delicious, but the the sugar did melt and made it less photo-worthy.

Some points to remember are definitely level out all of the dry ingredients, don't overdo the blueberries, and let the cake cool before removing the shell of the pan. 

Next time I make this recipe, I'm going to try it with raspberries. I think raspberries and lemon will be delicious! I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who wants a simple enough recipe that's great to make for an event/sharing! Thank you Natasha for such a great and easy recipe. :)