made with fresh blueberries picked by the Alphabet Mom
Happy National Blueberry month on this hot July afternoon.
I’m happy to report that my family is in full celebration mode for National Blueberry month. I mean, isn’t everybody?
In fact, we took a hop, skip and a jump right next door to the blueberry patch a few days ago and hand-picked a couple of gallons.
My daughter was thrilled…as you can tell.
Just kidding, she loves to do this kind of stuff with her mom and fortunately for me, she still enjoys spending time with me.
I don’t embarrass her…yet.
That’s a lie…I embarrass her all the time. Especially when I dance.
By the way, did you know National Dance Day is the 27th of this month? I may or may not be posting a video showcasing some of my dancing skills.
You won’t want to miss it. My daughter will want to, but you won’t, so be watching on social media. If you haven’t given me a like on IG or FB, I would love to visit with you there, as well.
Where was I? Oh, last year Scott and I went to the blueberry patch for the first time, like on a date.
Romantic, right?
Just the two of us, picking blueberries, not a care in the world. It’s the stuff movies are made of.
Question: did you know blueberries were a Superfood? Doctors and nutritionists recommend them to lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.
But they probably wouldn’t recommend them to be in today’s gooey butter cake.
And while I’m on that, can I be clear on something here?
Wait. I want to clear on a few of things.
- First, I’m not a nutritionist, I just love to cook and I love to read and research. So sometimes, I’m able to offer some nutritional elements to my recipes or on my blog.
- Second, I modify my recipes all the time, because I have some gluten free family members. Honestly, it’s really quite easy and I enjoy putting a healthier spin on a good recipe.
- Third, I don’t eat like I cook on this blog ALL THE TIME. Moderation has become my best friend and with exercise, I work daily to maintain good health.
- Lastly, I do in fact have my medical degree from WebMD, so I really am a doctor. I just got my degree from the internet and believe me, I can diagnose you quicker than Google can get ready.
It’s true…when I get a twitch or an ache or pain, I just google it and I have myself diagnosed within seconds. Makes you wonder why doctors go to school for so long.
Wait, are we in deep rabbit hole or what? Back to the blueberry patch outing.
My cousin, Kim, and Glen (you met Glen when he ate a gallon bag of BACs in one day and almost had to get his own apartment) came for a visit and we thought it would be so fun to take them to the blueberry patch.
We have a very high thrill level at our house.
Except Glen looked at us like we had a unicorn head. And stayed at home.
But Kim is always game for something exciting and fun so off we went.
It was a beautiful, hot and muggy middle of the summer morning, but we were not to be deterred.
Why? Because there is something about picking your own food and living on the land that invigorates you. My sister, Shelley, who will frequently make this column, loves to grow her own food and we call her Fannie Farmer.
I would just rather go to someone’s blueberry orchard and have the berries ready for me to pick.
Kind of like turning on water…I just want to turn it on and have it come on…I don’t want to know where it comes from.
Water…living on the land…blueberries…I had to back track to where we were.
I am a huge proponent of spending time as a family and will often write about it on my blog. My dad raised us that the family that plays together, stays together.
I like that and Scott and I have tried to model our family using that same philosophy. Hence, a family blueberry picking expedition.
My advice? It was hot, there were mosquitoes the size of crop dusters, but we were together. Don’t let opportunities get by you…carve out time to be together.
It’s important. And in this case, we ended up with two gallons of blueberries.
Which resulted in me researching recipes using these blueberries and do I have a good one for you today.
That’s right, it came across my news feed on Facebook a few weeks and wouldn’t you know that Cousin Glen was the one who tagged me in it.
The one on FB was a blueberry gooey butter cake, but I love lemon and blueberry together, so I went to the test kitchen and here’s what I came up with.
Start by mixing a yellow cake mix, an egg and a stick of melted butter in your mixer.
Pour this mixture into a 13×9 Pyrex dish, that is sprayed with non-stick spray.
Next, beat an 8-ounce cream cheese until it is smooth. Add two eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix well.
To this mixture add 16 ounces of powdered sugar and beat until it’s a sort of runny consistency (this would be the gooey part).
Here’s where we incorporate the lemon. Listen, you don’t have to make this lemon blueberry, you can just omit the lemon flavorings, but trust me, it is a delicious combination.
I added 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and the zest of a lemon (about a teaspoon).
If you don’t have a microplane zester, get you one. They are very inexpensive and I use it at least once a week in my kitchen.
Incorporate the lemon juice and zest and pour the gooey ooey on top of the cake mixture.
Finally, sprinkle as few or as many blueberries as you would like on the top of your cake mixture and get ready to bake in a 350 pre-heated oven.
It is done!
And let me tell you, with a dollop of cool whip, it was a delicious, light summertime dessert (Light except for the butter. And the cream cheese).
But it has blueberries and they are a Superfood, so that’s something, right?
My good friend Hunter said it might be his new favorite dessert.
Huh? I thought that was chocolate chip pound cake, but I’m happy to hear he loved the lemon blueberry combination.
And to think I hand-picked the berries.
And drove this tractor.
That’s a lie, but I wanted to really bad.
Question: Do you have a favorite blueberry recipe and if so, what is it?
Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 1 Box yellow cake mix (15.25 ounce)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks, divided and melted separate bowls)
- 1 8-ounce cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
- 1-2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- zest of one lemon (about 1 tsp)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
- Using an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, 1 egg and 1 stick of melted butter until well combined. Pat the mixture into the Pyrex dish.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 eggs, vanilla and other stick of melted butter and mix until well combined.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix well.
- To this mixture fold in the lemon juice and zest.
- Spoon this mixture over the cake batter and use a spoon to spread to create an even layer.
- Sprinkle the fresh blueberries on top.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes just until the cake seems set but a little gooey in the center.
- Top with cool whip (optional).