Return of The Picky Apple: Glazed Lemon-Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

Well. Hello there.  It’s been a few months, hasn’t it?  I’ve been thinking about this blog lots, writing imaginary blog posts in my head (bloggers, tell me you do that too!!) and getting lots of questions from friends and family.  “Why haven’t you been posting recently?”  “Have you tried any new recipes lately?”  “Do you plan to continue your blog?”  I have just been absolutely incapable of getting back in to the swing of it.  Honestly, most of the problem is probably my perfectionism.  I’m terribly guilty of all-or-nothing thinking in many aspects of my life and it can be paralyzing.  As that pertains to this blog: wanting to have the PERFECT blog post with the PERFECT intro to the PERFECT recipe with the PERFECT photos of the PERFECTLY cooked food.  And if I can’t live up to that, then nothing at all, and I just can’t be a blogger.  But that’s an awful lot of pressure, wouldn’t you say?  It’s been keeping me from sharing some pretty great recipes with all of you and keeping me from blogging which I’ve really come to enjoy.  So I’m back, just aiming to post semi-regularly with a recipe or two!  If I can get a great photo (my hubby, The Picky Apple is usually the food photographer), then super!  If not, then I hope you’ll forgive me.  If I can write a witty and enjoyable intro to go along with the recipe, then even better, but it isn’t always going to come together.  My main desire is to share great recipes with family, friends, and any one else who is interested in what I have to say and what I’m cooking and baking!  I’ll hope you’ll forgive my  prolonged absence and come back to check things out!  And of course, I always love comments.  They make my day, even if I don’t get a chance to respond.

Daily life with The Littlest Apple seems to have gotten a lot busier.  He is on the move, a busy little bee.  A 20 month old with his very own social calendar.   Wanting to do it all by himself but not quite able to.  VERY interested in helping in the kitchen, which is heartwarming or annoying, depending on my level of patience at the time!  His favorite thing to do is “mix”, and he is always asking, “Mix? Bowl?  Mix?  Miiiiiiiiiiiiix?!!”  This is typically followed by a screaming tantrum on the floor if I do not indulge his demands.  He recently figured out how to push a chair from the table across the kitchen to the counter where I do most of my food prep.  Gulp.  I think I’m in trouble now!

To kick off my return, here’s a recipe for a bundt cake that’s great for breakfast, dessert, or anytime!  This was one of the first recipes that I really let The Littlest Apple help with.  He helped stir together the dry ingredients, added the blueberries, and poured things.  He was so proud of his cake, and told his grandparents all about it the next day when they came for a visit.

The recipe is from Cooking Light so it is (relatively) healthy, but is absolutely full of flavor.  I’ve had lemon-poppyseed, and lemon-blueberry combinations before, but never this trio of lemon-blueberry-poppyseed.  They make an amazing threesome!

Glazed Lemon-Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

from Cooking Light, April 2009

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs (I omitted)
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract  (I omitted this)

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp nonfat buttermilk
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare cake, coat a 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffly (about 5 minutes).  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk.  Add blueberries to flour mixture; toss to coat.  Combine 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup juice, and extracts.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove cake from pan; cool on rack.

To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar in a small bowl; add 1 tablespoon buttermilk and 1 tablespoon juice; stirring with a whisk until combined.  Pour glaze over warm cake; cool completely.

Yield: 16 servings