Brunch.
It’s a portmanteau– a made up word joining two words and two meanings. You know, a blend. List and article: Listicle. Smoke and fog: Smog. Breakfast and lunch: Brunch.
Actually, Blue Cayenne’s sweet Chief Quality Officer (CQO) Juliet is probably a portmanteau, too. Juliet is a little rescue and the bets are that she is a cross between a Yorkie and a Pomeranian. We won’t be telling Juliet, but that makes her a Porkie.
But enough vocabulary wanderings. What about the concept of brunch?
Nineteenth-century British writer Guy Beringer is generally credited with coining the term brunch. He wrote a tongue-in-cheek piece in a British magazine, The Hunter’s Weekly, in 1895 titled “Brunch: A Plea.” In the piece, Beringer argued the merits of a late Sunday morning meal, one that would better suit those Saturday carousers who, in their hung over state, struggled to face the Sunday feed: “Brunch is a hospitable meal; breakfast is not. Eggs and bacon are adapted to solitude; they are consoling, but not exhilarating. They do not stimulate conversation. Brunch, on the contrary, is cheerful, sociable, and inciting. It puts you in a good temper. It makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings. It sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”
This Blueberry Brunch Cake is perfect for any midday celebration. There is lots of flavor with lemon and blueberries and nutmeg. It’s pretty too. And, who couldn’t use a little cobweb cleanse now and then?
Blueberry Brunch Cake
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 2/3 C. sugar
- 1/2 C. unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 t. grated lemon zest
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
- 2 T. poppy seeds
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1/2 C. sour cream
- For The Filling:
- 2 C. fresh blueberries
- 1/3 C. sugar
- 2 t. flour
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
- For The Glaze:
- 1/3 C. powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 t. whole milk
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a springform pan but greasing it and dusting it with flour.
- Step 2 Combine sugar and butter and beat until fluffy. Add lemon zest and egg and beat mixture for two minutes.
- Step 3 Spoon flour into a measuring cup and level it off. Combine flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt.
- Step 4 Alternating between the sour cream and the flour mixture, add the flour mixture and the sour cream to the butter mixture. Mix to combine.
- Step 5 Your batter will be relatively thick. Spread the batter into the prepared springform pan being sure that the batter on the sides of the pan is about 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.
- Step 6 Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Spoon the filling over the batter.
- Step 7 Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 55 minutes. The crust for your cake should be golden and the cake should be firm when pressed. A wooden skewer should come out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
- Step 8 Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool a bit. When the cake has cooled, remove the sides of the springform pan.
- Step 9 Prepare the glaze by combining the powdered sugar and milk. Adjust the amount of milk you add to get a thick and smooth glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled cake.
This recipe is adapted from a Marian Burros recipe that appeared in The New York Times. You can find the original recipe here.
