When You Need a Conversation Stopper
Last time around, we did some breakfast food. This time, let's go all the way to the opposite end of the day and do a dessert!
We do hope you're not tired of blueberries yet, as they'll feature in this recipe too - this time as a supporting character instead of as a star.
Do you like berry lemonade? We think this is the best time of year for it, as the weather heats back up and the days get longer. The thing with berry lemonade, though, is that it gets awfully watered down in all the heat. But if you bake all the same flavors into a cake, there's no melting ice to ruin it. It's like six times as sticky, though, so maybe keep in mind the need for a plate and fork instead of a cup and straw.
Lemon Berry Cake
Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix (18 ounce, give or take a bit)
1 cup vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
4 extra large eggs (5 if using large or medium size)
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or melted butter
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup cherry pie filling
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tablespoon strawberry syrup
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Tools:
Mixing bowl, spoon, measuring cups and spoons, blender or food processor, Bundt pan, non-stick spray, hand mixer (optional)
First off, pour that box of dry cake mix into the mixing bowl. Break up any large lumps you might find - it's easier to do this now, before adding any wet ingredients to it.
Measure your yogurt and oil or butter into the bowl. Crack the eggs into it, and jab the yolks with the spoon to break them. Don't get too excited and start stirring it yet, though - we still haven't added the bulk of the wet ingredients.
Now is probably a good time to go wake the oven up (even though running the oven in warm weather is such a distasteful idea). You'll want to set it to preheat to 325. Look on the bright side: at least we're not making pizza or bread. We'd be telling you 450 for either of those!
Crack open your can of cherry pie filling (well, we always just use the canned stuff, but maybe your family is extra fancy and makes it from scratch. If you do make it yourself, we're jealous and would like to try some) and dump a cup of it into the blender or food processor, along with the blueberries, lemon juice, lemon extract and strawberry syrup. Blend it up until it's a purplish mixture about the consistency of a jar of store-bought jelly. Alternatively, you can choose to stop a little sooner and go for the consistency of preserves - lumps are fine, they just lend the cake more texture.
Take everything in the blender and pour it out into the bowl of cake mix, and then add your poppy seeds. If you intend to employ the hand mixer, give everything a once- or twice-over with the spoon before turning it on so it doesn't go "poof!" and give your kitchen a nice dusting of cake mix bits. If you're not using a mixer, stir gently by hand for about two minutes to make sure everything is all homogeneous.
Once you have your cake batter stirred smooth, grab your Bundt pan. Spray it lightly with the non-stick spray, making sure to get into all the little fluted nooks. Pay special attention to the center, also - we've discovered that if the cake is going to stick somewhere, it's there. Pour your cake batter into the pan - be sure to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and get all the berries! - and smooth it over with the spoon.
Tuck it into the oven on a center rack and let it bake up for about 45 minutes. Sometimes the cake is set and ready to go after 45, but more often than not, it needs a few minutes longer than that. We think it varies based on the amount of syrup in the cup of pie filling.
It's ready to leave the oven when a toothpick poked into the deepest part of the cake comes out clean, and the edges have begun to pull away from the sides of the Bundt pan.
Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you make any attempt to remove it - moving it too soon can result in cake chunks, instead of a whole cake. Wiggle a butter knife gently around the edges and the center if it's still holding on after you've tried inverting the pan.
This cake's texture will be springy and soft, and sort of custard-y when you cut into it. You can see for yourself in the photos - we jabbed it with the blunt end of a knife, and the cake just dented instead of crumbling. It even returned to shape before we got around to drizzling glaze over it!
Don't worry, it's done; we promise it’s cooked all the way through. The softness is the result of using yogurt when most cakes use milk or water, and rounding out the wet ingredients with egg and semi-solid fruits.
The berry flavors on their own aren't overly sweet - they're more tangy - so we do recommend breaking out your favorite glaze recipe or melting some store bought frosting over it before serving. Don't disappoint the resident sweet tooth!
When you decide to make this cake we want to see! You’ve seen how ours turned out we’d love to see yours! Show us over on Facebook?
If you live in The Colony and you need someone to take a look at your appliances, don’t forget to give us a call. We’re here to keep your home running smooth whether something has broken, or just if you think something is off.
Phone: (214) 599-0055
Website: https://appliance-rescue-service.com/contact-us