If possible, use wild blueberries instead of cultivated berries for your loaf – you’ll taste the difference!
Wild Blueberry Buttermilk Cinnamon Loaf (with variations)
(Makes one 9” x 5” loaf; recipe can be doubled)
Topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Loaf
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake-and-pastry flour, not self-rising
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh wild blueberries, picked over (or substitute unthawed frozen wild blueberries)
Non-stick vegetable oil cooking spray for greasing the pan
Parchment paper
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan with cooking spray, and line with an overhang of parchment paper. Combine the cinnamon and sugar for the topping in a small bowl, and set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat in the vanilla.
Into a separate bowl, sift both flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in 3 stages, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan.
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hour, or until top is golden and springs back when lightly touched, and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.
Brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter, then sprinkle liberally with the sugar-cinnamon mixture, and cool right side up on a wire rack. Serve warm slathered with sweet butter, or at room temperature. Store airtight, or freeze for up to one month.
VARIATIONS:
Vanilla Date Loaf with Nutmeg: Substitute chopped pitted dates for the blueberries, omit the cinnamon, and increase the nutmeg to 1 teaspoon.
Apricot Pecan Loaf: Substitute 1 cup chopped dried apricots for the blueberries, and add ½ to 1 cup chopped pecans to the batter with the apricots. Omit the nutmeg.
Courtesy of Regan Daley
Chef/Author of “In The Sweet Kitchen”
www.regandaley.com