I was walking away from a table full of packages of blueberries when a woman approached me in W-M. She asked if I liked blueberries and didn’t I think they were rather expensive ($3/1 pint dry)? I agreed that they were high. She then told me she raised blueberries and we could pick our own for $5/gallon. I know what I will be doing one early morning when they are ready. Wonder how many gallons I can stuff in my freezer?

And, of course, now I have to find some good recipes for those little balls of blue which will come to live in my house.

One of the first ones I ran across was this simple cake. It uses a cup of blueberries, either fresh or frozen, and that means this cake is full of blueberries. It is sweet but not too sweet. Light and airy.

Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

    1 2/3 cups AP flour
    1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/3 cup butter, softened
    3/4 cup + 2Tbl sugar (I used 1/2 sugar and 1/2 Splenda)
    1 egg
    1/3 cup milk
    1 cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries.

Preheat oven to 375°F. generously grease a 9×9 pan. (Ialso sprinkled the pan with sugar ala AB.)
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and stir to mix well.
Combine the butyer and sugar in a medium bowl and beat at high speed until well combined.
Add the egg and beat well for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl as needed and mix until batter is smooth and light.
Stir in 1/2 the flour mixture, then 1/2 the milk,micxing just enough to keep the batter fairly smooth and well combined.
Add the remaining the flour, then the rest of the milk, mixing gently.
Stir in the blueberries. (I floured the berries so they wouldn’t sink to the bottom.)
Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until cake is golden and springs back when gently touched.

This is good for a snack, breakfast, or with friends and a cup of coffee.
This recipe is originally from The Best of the Bushel from the Junior League of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can find it in Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott.