Blackberry Pound Cake

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I was fortunate enough to receive some delicious, fresh blackberries from a coworker at Decidedly Different. While I had some ideas, I decided to browse our newest cookbook -- The Best of Cooking Light. I found so many delicious berry recipes in the dessert section and I wasn't quite sure which one to use. I was leaning toward trying a blackberry angel food cake, but that called for 12 egg whites and I didn't quite feel like using all of our eggs. The recipe I finally decided on is originally for a blueberry pound cake and I simply subbed in blackberries for the blueberries. I could not be happier with the outcome. This recipe yields a moist and flavorful cake that's perfect for the summer.

Blackberry Pound Cake
taken from The Best of Cooking Light

2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light butter, softened [I used regular unsalted butter]
1/2 cup [4 ounces] 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 [8-ounce] carton lemon low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cooking spray
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat sugar, butter, and cream cheese at medium speed until well blended [about 5 minutes]. Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Measure out your flour, and then take 2 tablespoons of flour from the 3 cups and combine with blackberries in a small bowl, tossing well.


Combine remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Fold in blackberries and vanilla; pour cake bater into 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

The last part is the part I strayed from. We, somehow, do not own a tube pan or a bundt pan or anything or the sort. Well, shoot. So what did I do? I busted out my new mini fluted cake pans and muffin pans and made some mini cakes! I believe these baked for 35-40 minutes but I could be very, very wrong. Do not take my word for it. Keep an eye on your cakes if you decide to use a different pan to make sure they don't overcook.


Cool your cake in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes and then remove. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice, and drizzle over the warm cake.

Cherry Berry Oatmeal Bars

I keep trying to find a way to start this entry and I'm failing miserably, so we'll start this way -- I love me some berries and cherries. Summer fruit is my favorite. Cherries, strawberries, blackberries...I want 'em all. Imagine my delight to find a recipe in Cooking Light this summer for Cherry Berry Jam. All the recipe calls for is cherries, berries, lemon juice, and sugar. I decided to give it a whirl and it turned out pretty well. I should have let the jam simmer for a little while longer, but I'm ridiculously impatient and that resulted in a pretty thin jam that I now refer to as a spread. After using the deliciousness for the topping on our breakfast toast for two weeks straight we still had a ton of the jam left over. I turned to BakeBakeBake for some help and found this recipe.


Cherry Berry Oatmeal Bars

1 cup whole wheat flour [all-purpose would work, also, but I had to use up my wheat flour]
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4-5 tablespoons of butter



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9x9 inch baking pan. Combine flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the cold butter until a crumbly mixture is formed. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread as much jam as you would like over the bottom layer, but be sure to leave a 1/4 inch edge so the jam doesn't bubble over the topping. Sprinkle the remaining mixture over the jam and press lightly into jam. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

These were good. Not phenomenal, but definitely not bad. They were very tasty warm but I actually preferred them a day or more later. The bars took on a chewier texture and held together much better than on the first day. I would be more enthusiastic about these bars but I much prefer cakes and brownies than something like this. But if you have some extra jam or jelly or whatever to use up I would recommend these oatmeal bars. They make a nice, light alternative to heavier and more decadent desserts...and they're healthier!

Scones for Mother's Day!

I finished off my junior year of college [woo hoo, I'm a senior!] and made my way home on Thursday. I've been itching to bake. I have a list of at least 5 different cupcakes I want to try, as well as brownies and cookies. Unfortunately, we've been very busy around the house lately and I've been sick so I've had to control myself, which went pretty well...until this morning! I wanted to do something special for Mom for Mother's Day and I figured I could bake something for her. She loves scones, so I decided I would wake up early and bake some blackberry scones for breakfast. After much searching through www.allrecipes.com I found this recipe, which received rave reviews. I altered the recipe slightly and the finished product was absolutely amazing, so I'll post my version.

Basic Scones
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl and then stir into the flour mixture until moist. NOTE: You may not need all of the milk. Add a little at a time.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead BRIEFLY. Roll out dough into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

Now I took that basic recipe and added fresh blackberries, but you can add anything you'd like [chocolate chips, cranberries, blueberries, etc.]. I was worried that blackberries were a poor choice and anticipated ending up with stained hands. Fortunately, the berries held together fairly well and the mess was minimal. Just so you know, the dough is incredibly sticky. I had "club hand" seconds into the kneading. This could be due to using too much of the milk mixture and I'll be more careful with that next time.
I've made scones before, but these are the best I've had! They're incredibly fluffy and buttery, with a very soft and tender texture. I would definitely make these again in the future and I'm sure Mom wouldn't object. She talked about the scones all day and even considered having another for dessert after we returned home from dinner. I'm so glad they turned out so well and I'm even more glad that she enjoyed them on Mother's Day.


Hopefully I'll be posting more soon. My sister is planning on having a birthday party with a couple friends and I'm planning on baking some cupcakes for the occasion. I also got sent home from school with a pile of hot chocolate mixes [thank you, Bryce!] and I want to make some Hot Chocolate cookies with those.