On Saturday, July 6, I entered Mood’s Farm Markets Blueberry Dessert Contest, held during the farm’s annual blueberry festival. I was attracted to the “anything goes” competition, and decided I’d pull out a show stopper with one of my layer cakes. I made the right decision.
The contest had a wide variety of blueberry treats, ranging from cakes in all shapes and sizes to cannolis, pies, and one daring competitor even made ice cream (the day was SWELTERING). There was 2 hours allotted for judging, so Ray and I decided to do some blueberry picking. We came back with about 8 lbs of berries, got a couple of refreshing drinks and sat down in the shade to enjoy a respite from the sun and the music.
Judging by the judges was broken down like so (with a possible total of 300 points):
Criteria |
Points |
| Overall Taste | 30 |
| Originality/Creativity | 30 |
| Appearance/Presentation | 20 |
| Ease of Preparation/ Use of Main Ingredient |
20 |
| Your Score | 100 |
I was awarded 3rd place with a total of 251 points (I’m sure I got low marks in the “Ease of Prep” category!), and found out I was only 1 point away from tying for 2nd! I was ecstatic, and Ray was so proud of me (which made me even happier).
Contestants got first crack at the desserts … because of the heat I didn’t partake of anything but my own cake (wanted to taste it myself) and the 2nd place winner the Christmas Day Blueberry Tart, which was simply stunning.
I received so many compliments that my head was spinning and I was most likely grinning like a fool. Marguerite, baker of the lovely tart, even stopped by and told me my cake looked like something out of an upscale boutique. What a compliment!
So now I share my recipe with you. It makes a lovely cake, and don’t skimp on the blueberry truffle filling (which, thanks to Jamie of Luscious Bakery for giving me the tip of using white chocolate to lighten up the truffle–she was so right!)
Ingredients
Directions
Work on the Blueberry Truffle Filling first so it has time to chill (at least 30 minutes).
Measure the white chocolate into a heat-safe bowl. Bring the heavy cream, blueberry puree and butter to a boil. Take off the heat and pour over the chocolate, gently mixing until smooth.
Let it cool for 5 minutes, then stir in the blueberry extract. Chill until you're ready to assemble the cake.
For the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center.
Lightly grease and flour (or use Baker's Joy spray) two 6-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and sugar, whisking to blend; set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed, medium pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat. Once melted, add the coffee and whisk together.
Add the cocoa--gradually--whisking to combine. The mixture should come to a simmer, but not a boil. You want it to thicken.
Once thickened, cool the cocoa mixture for about 10-15 minutes.
In your stand mixer, whip together the eggs and milk.
Once the cocoa mixture has cooled, slowly add a little bit of the mixture to temper the eggs, whisking constantly.
Add the remaining mixture, whisking to combine (this might best be done by taking the bowl off the stand mixer and whisking by hand, then putting it back on to the mixer for the dry ingredients).
Add the dry ingredients in 3-4 stages.
Add the blueberry extract. Mix to combine.
Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans, trying to keep it as even as possible.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. When finished baking, cool in the pan for 30+ minutes.
Remove the cake layers from the pans and finish cooling them on the wire racks.
For the frosting, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar gradually and beat to combine. Add the blueberry puree and blueberry extract. Whip until light and fluffy.
To assemble, place the bottom layer on a cake round. Trim the top off to make an even layer.
Using some of the blueberry buttercream, pipe a border around the top edge of the first layer to keep the blueberry truffle filling in the middle.
Add the blueberry truffle within the buttercream border.
Trim the top off the second layer, turn it cut-side down and place on top of the filling.
Place the cake in the freezer to chill for about 20 minutes.
Apply a crumb coating of blueberry buttercream. Chill for 20-30 minutes in the freezer.
Frost using the remaining buttercream. To make the swirl effect on the cake, an offset spatula and turn table with be extremely helpful. Begin at the bottom edge of the cake with your offset spatula turned sideways. Press gently, and slowly spin the turntable while dragging the offset spatula up the side of the cake. Don't press too hard, otherwise you'll expose the cake. You can also gently touchup as needed.
To finish the top of the cake, place the tip of of the spatula onto the middle of the cake. Spin the turntable and pull the spatula to the outer edge of the cake. Garnish with blueberries
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