Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour the cake pan with extra butter and flour.During the first Forefathers’ Day on December 22, 1769, the members of the Old Colony Club served a large baked Indian whortleberry pudding. Whortleberries are European blueberries that grow on shrubs, similar to huckleberries. Since most grocery stores today do not stock whortleberries or huckleberries, we created this dish with blueberries. This moist four-layer cake is not too sweet, which allows the star of the cake, blueberries, to shine.
INGREDIENTS
Buttermilk Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra to prepare pan
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus extra to prepare pan
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp baking powder
½ cup buttermilk
⅔ cup sugar
1 large egg white
½ tsp vanilla paste
Crumble Layer:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp old-fashioned oats
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla paste
1 stick butter, unsalted, melted
Final Preparation:
4–4½ cups blueberries, rinsed and dried, divided
DIRECTIONS
Buttermilk Batter
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour the cake pan with extra butter and flour.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. Pour the buttermilk in a small bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream butter. Add sugar, and mix until fully incorporated. Add egg white, followed by the vanilla paste. Shut mixer off, and scrape the sides down with a spoon. Turn mixer back on to low.
Alternate adding in the buttermilk and flour mixture in the mixer. Between each set, scrape down the sides of the bowl. We blended in three sets. This mixture is going to be thick and sticky.
Crumble Layer
Using a food processor, blend the flour, cinnamon, oats, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla paste. Do not over-blend; spend just enough time to mix the oats into the flour. While the processor is on, pour the melted butter into the mixture. Remove the bowl from the processor, and manually stir the mixture to ensure that the butter is incorporated.
In the prepared pan, add 2–2½ cups blueberries to the bottom of the pan in a single layer.
Using a plastic spatula, add spoonfuls of the buttermilk batter to the top of the blueberries. Go slowly, and be patient. Once all of the buttermilk batter is on top of the blueberries, slowly spread the batter to form a single layer; we used a frosting knife.
Layer the batter with the remaining blueberries, again in a single layer. Finish the cake by spreading the crumble layer over the top, pressing down lightly. If you have extra crumble topping and blueberries, add them to a ramekin and make a quick blueberry crumble. Bake the cake for 50 minutes.
This is best enjoyed when cooled or even chilled in the refrigerator.
