Very berry blueberry coconut fluff cake

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Blueberries, A Fruit Of Health and Beauty

 

I knew I wanted to create something special with my blueberries so a blueberry cake was what I set out to create. Knowing the basics in making an everyday white cake it’s easy to play around with ingredients so you can create something that is bursting with flavour that everyone will love. I called my blueberry cake the Very Berry Blueberry Coconut Fluff cake because I packed it full of blueberries and coconut and it’s very light and fluffy.

I decided to top the cake with a cinnamon nutmeg crumb topping just to give the cake the crunch that it needed. I was considering drizzling the top with a white glaze or white icing which you can do if you want to make this blueberry cake ooey gooey.

It’s no secret that a lemon blueberry cake goes together so well but I wanted to try and add a hint of lime to my blueberry cake since I enjoy the fresh taste that lime brings to any dish I create.  I think you will find this blueberry cake recipe is not only easy to make but comparable to a blueberry coffee cake or a blueberry crumb cake just lighter in texture. You could easily turn this into a blueberry muffin recipe if you wanted to use your muffin tin as well.

I considered making this a blueberry bundt cake or simply putting the blueberry cake batter in a standard cake pan but ultimately decided to use my spring from pan. IT was easy to release the cake and cut into gorgeous wedges for easy placement on the dish. I added a bit of Greek Yogurt to the side with fresh blueberries on top.

 

Blueberry nutrition

 

What are the health benefits of blueberries?

Honestly we hear how blueberries are low in calories and high in fibre and are jam-packed with antioxidants, vitamins C, A and E to help prevent free radicals in the body thus helping to prevent injury. A half a cup of blueberries according to Ontario Blueberries, Foodland Ontario government  website is only 41 calories. How’s that for good eats? Of course I’m only skimming the surface with the health benefits of blueberries but nutritionally they are what they are, good for you and your body.

Check out the nutritional facts on blueberries here.

 

When are blueberries harvested in Canada?

 

It’s clear that we know they are full of sweet, juicy goodness for our bodies simply by eating them as they are unique with its round form with a crisp blue-black skin and juicy insides and stone-free. With Canadian blueberries harvest seasons between late summer and October it’s a prime time to head to the local market or direct to the farmers to load up on this delicate fruit that can be eaten fresh or you can freeze them for later use.

 

Types of blueberries

 

There are two types of blueberry bushes that grow in Ontario called a high-bush blueberry and a low-bush blueberry. The low bush is your wild blueberries which are smaller. We have bought bags of Welch’s wild blueberries in the freezer section at the grocery store. You may also find wild blueberries are used in pies quite a bit as well.

The high bush berries grow tall up to 8 ft and will produce the bigger blueberry. It’s great to know especially if you plan on planting blueberry bushes. I’d like to learn how to grow blueberry bushes but if they are anything like the raspberry bushes we have we know there will never be a shortage in our household. Personally I like the high bush blueberry but the low bush blueberry is just as good when I mix it in with my morning yogurt.

 

Cost of blueberries

 

We recently picked up a pint for $1.44 which was a great price considering they can cost $3.99 a pint. We stockpiled our Canadian blueberries while we could by purchasing 6 pints. We kept one pint of blueberries out to eat fresh and the rest we froze for later use. One tip I kept reading during my research was to never wash blueberries before you freeze them. You can keep them up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator but don’t wait too long to eat them up.

The best thing about blueberries is when you defrost them they are the same as they are coming fresh from the bush. There is one thing about freezing fruit is that you may find after defrost they get mushy, not blueberries though. I find that raspberries and blueberries are two of the best fruits to freeze as they keep their shape when defrosted.

If you do freeze them wait until they are fully defrosted to eat them so you get the best flavour possible otherwise you will taste the icy frozen berry which may be bland. At least that is from my experience because sometimes it’s too hard to wait until they are at room temperature.

After defrost you can use blueberries in smoothies, milk shakes, pancakes, muffins, cakes, pies, jam, jelly and the list can go on and on. My favourite has to be a blueberry cheesecake or a blueberry pie. Gosh, it’s hard not to love all blueberry recipes. We love blueberries so much that when we can get them at a good price we will stock up to keep us going for a few months.

Do you like blueberries? 

British Columbia grows the majority of high bush blueberries (93 percent) but they can also be found in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

BC is one of the top three blueberry producing regions in the world. In the last 10 or 15 years, per capita consumption of blueberries has doubled.

Birds find blueberry fruit very attractive and can eat the entire crop of a small planting if it is not protected. To prevent losses, cover individual bushes or the entire planting with netting supported by a light framework, put up the netting just before the berries turn blue.

Source

 

Blueberry fluff cake ingredients

 

• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg whites fluffed
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup of granulate sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/4 coconut oil
• Juice of one lime
• 2 cups of white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups of fresh blueberries  plus 1/4 cup of flour to coat

 

Preparation

 

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
• Grease a spring form pan with butter lightly
• In you mixer add your coconut oil, butter and sugar and blend it up.
• Add in your eggs one by one and mix
• Add in your vanilla extract, lemon extract and juice of one lime
• Mix together in a bowl your dry ingredients and add to the mixer alternating with the milk and cream
• In a separate bowl fluff up your 2 egg whites
• Fold your egg whites into the batter
• Mix in your coconut by hand gently
• In another bowl dust your blueberries with flour and then mix them in by hand into the cake batter until combined
• Pour into a greased spring form pan

 

Butter Cinnamon Topping Ingredients

 

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup cold cubed butter
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup crushed flax-seed
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1.5 cups of brown sugar
• 1 cup of unsweetened coconut

 

Butter Cinnamon Topping 

 

• In a bowl add your brown sugar , cinnamon, nutmeg, flax seed, and coconut
• Mix in by hand your coconut oil
• Add in your bits of butter and rub them between your fingers until you have pea size bits in the sugar
• Add to the top of the blueberry cake
• Bake 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
• Let the cake cool before cutting and top with Greek yogurt and fresh berries
• Yield 8-10 slices

There you have it, my lovely blueberry coconut fluff cake and it’s certainly not going to be the last time I make this in the CBB kitchen. What are some of your favourite blueberry recipes to make?

 

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