Kathy Edwards, a pastry chef at Nana’s Restaurant in Durham, North Carolina, worked with us one summer and created this luscious cake. We continue to make if every summer and it’s always a hit, especially during blueberry season.
Makes on 9-inch 4-Layer Cake; Serves 12-16
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup canola or safflower oil
1 cup molasses
2 cups buttermilk
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 recipe Mocha Cream (recipe follows)
Confectioners’sugar, to garnish, optonal
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and lightly flour 2 9-inch cake pans and set aside.
3. Sift together 4 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl and stir to mix. Set aside.
4. Mix together the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
5. Slowly add the oil and molasses to the egg mixture while beating constantly until well combined.
6. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, stirring after each addition just until all the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix.
7. Toss 2 cups of the blueberries with the remaining flour in a separate bowl and fold into the batter.
8. Divide the batter evenly betwen the prepared pans and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of the each cake comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and cool the cakes 10 to 15 minutes in the pans. Remove from the pans and continue to cool on a baking rack.
10. Once the cakes have cooled completely, use a long, serrated knife to slice off the top rounded portion of each cake to make a flat, even surface, Discard the trimmings. Slice each cake horizontally through the center to make 4 thin layers.
11. Place 1 layer, cut side down, on a cake plate and top with about one-third of the Mocha Cream. Sprinkle with about one-third of the remaining blueberries. Repeat the process with the second and third layers. Place the fourth layer cut side down on the Mocha Cream and berries. Just before serving, dust generously with confectioners’ sugar through a fine sieve. (Note: If you are going to refrigerate the cake, add the confectioners’ sugar just before serving. The cake can be assempled and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead.)
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