Blueberry Basil Breakfast Cake

A simple buttermilk and blueberry snack cake recipe served with honey yogurt. A quick and easy summer dessert recipe for all of your backyard barbecues.

blueberry basil breakfast cake, sliced

I love you guys, but you aren’t the most helpful bunch when helping me with recipe ideas. Last week, I had a bunch of juicy little blueberries in my fridge so I took an Instagram poll asking if you’d like to see a snack cake recipe or a scone recipe with them. It was a real nail-biter and when I started planning the recipe out, snack cake was winning by five votes. By the time I finished photographing, scones had taken over. It was too late so this week, you are getting a snack cake recipe and I’m back to work in the kitchen for those scones.

what exactly is a snack cake?

Besides being my very favorite category of baked goods, what makes a snack cake a snack cake? While there isn’t a completely definitive answer for this question, the general consensus is that a snack cake is a simpler-style cake. (If you’re interested in reading what a bunch of pastry chefs consider a snack cake, check out this article). For my personal definition, snack cake criteria is as follows: single layer, made with simple pantry ingredients, easy mixing method (this means blending method with liquid fat or creaming method with solid fat). Whatever the official definition, they are simple and they are delicious and I love them. I’m calling this specific snack cake a ‘breakfast cake’ because it tastes a bit like a muffin and gives me permission to eat it for breakfast.

blueberry basil breakfast cake, sliced and plated with honey yogurt

how to make (and adapt) a blueberry basil breakfast cake

This cake is easy-peasy and is endlessly adaptable based on whatever fresh fruit you have on hand. To start, basil leaves are rubbed into sugar which breaks them down and releases all of the oils inside. Then the sugars are whisked together with your standard dry ingredients (flour, leaveners, salt) + a little semolina flour. I love using semolina flour to give a coarser texture to baked goods, but you could very easily substitute this with cornmeal or even another flour, like spelt or rye. Or just use more all purpose—I told you this cake was adaptable.

For the wet ingredients, we are using melted butter (you can brown it for an extra oomph of flavor), vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk for extra tenderness. Wet ingredients are whisked into the dry to create a thick batter and then fresh blueberries are folded in. The whole thing gets topped with more fresh blueberries and a layer of crunchy demerara sugar before baking. I like to serve this cake with sweetened yogurt, but you could use whipped cream or ice cream if you prefer. It’s also great plain with a giant cup of coffee.

a piece of blueberry basil breakfast cake

Yield: serves 8

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Blueberry Basil Breakfast Cake

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

A simple buttermilk and blueberry snack cake recipe served with honey yogurt. A quick and easy summer dessert recipe for all of your backyard barbecues.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (80 g) semolina flour
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (54 g) brown sugar
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (230 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 1/2 tbsp demerara sugar
• 1/4 cup plain whole milk greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp honey

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 9” springform pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add the chopped basil leaves and use your fingers to rub the basil into the sugars until fragrant and combined. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, semolina flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the sugars/basil and whisk until combined.
4. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter until smooth and homogenized.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until no dry spots remain and you have a thick, smooth batter. Add 3/4 of the blueberries, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them in until evenly dispersed.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle the top with the remaining blueberries and demerara sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until deeply golden brown and the center of the cake is no longer wiggly. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.
7. To serve: whisk together yogurt and honey. Add a dollop of honey yogurt on each slice of cake and serve immediately.

Notes:

This cake is endlessly adaptable. Substitute any summer berry you have on hand!

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Double Strawberry Galettes

Farmer’s market strawberries are tucked into homemade pie crust to make these miniature double strawberry galettes. Serve with macerated strawberries and vanilla ice cream for an easy, summer dessert.

Galettes are my very favorite summer dessert and I don’t care who knows it!

As I was brainstorming for this recipe, I had a bit of a culinary revelation. Galettes are best in the summer and pies are best in the fall—here is why. In the summer, fruit is amazing! We have bright, juicy berries, plump peaches, dark plums, sweet (and tart cherries). We get blessed with nature’s candy for a few months out of the year and I don’t want to do anything to cover up those flavors. This is where galettes come in. In the galette application, pie crust is basically just there to be a convenient vessel for piles of fruit. It’s crispy and buttery and complementary, but doesn’t take away from the main event.

Pies on the other hand, are where you want a lot of crust. In my humble opinion, fall and winter fruits need a bit of support to shine. Apples are always better basted with spices and pears like to be poached in wine. They need the tender layers of a pie crust to help round everything out.

Anyway, that’s my little speech and it might be a hill I’m ready to die on. You probably won’t catch me making any pies this summer, but galettes will be plentiful.

how to make homemade flaky pie crust

Making a good homemade pie crust is fairly simple, but needs practice. I follow Erin McDowell’s general pie technique and have found it works perfectly every time. Here’s how it works:

1. Toss together your dry ingredients. I like to use a blend of all purpose flour and cake flour because I find it gives a little extra flakiness. You could also use 100% all purpose, or 100% pastry flour, no problem. There’s also a little salt and a little sugar added.

2. Add cubed cold butter. I follow two steps when adding the butter. First, I add all of the butter cubes to the bowl and gently toss it with my fingers so that each piece of butter gets dusted in flour. Then, using my thumbs and forefingers, I flatten each butter cube. When all of the butter has been flattened, I use my finger tips to gently break the pieces down until they are the size of large peas or black beans.

3. Add the ice water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and drizzle in a few tablespoons of ice water. Most pie recipes call for a range of water to be added—always start on the low end and add more if needed. Toss gently with your fingertips, just to hydrate the dough and then begin to knead gently, adding more water if needed. The dough is ready when you can squeeze a clump in your hand and it stays together when you open your hand.

4. Wrap and chill. Turn your crumbly dough onto a work surface and use the heel of your hand to gently press it into a disc. Your disc should have no dry pockets of flour and you should still be able to see pieces of butter threaded throughout. Wrap it tightly and chill it for at least an hour. Most doughs shrink because they haven’t been sufficiently chilled so give it some time—overnight is best.

tips for making the best summer fruit galettes

I used the most beautiful farmer’s market strawberries for this recipe, but the best thing about galettes is that you can use any fruit you’d like! Here are some tips to make your galettes shine every time.

• Taste your fruit! Natural sweetness varies from fruit to fruit, so taste yours and then adjust the amount of sugar accordingly. In my personal opinion, not much is needed so I usually start with a tablespoon and then add more if needed.

• Add a bit a of cornstarch. Galette juices can be a bit runny, so adding a teaspoon or so of cornstarch will help thicken things up.

• Save some macerated fruit for topping. That’s where the double strawberry part comes in for this recipe. Reserve some of the macerated fruit and spoon it on top of your galettes (along with ice cream) for maximum summer fruit flavor!

Yield: one large galette (9") or four individual galettes

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Double Strawberry Galettes

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 2 Hour

Farmer’s market strawberries are tucked into homemade pie crust to make these miniature double strawberry galettes. Serve with macerated strawberries and vanilla ice cream for an easy, summer dessert.

Ingredients

for the pie crust

• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (82 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (70 g) cake flour
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, cold
• 4 tbsp of ice water

for the strawberry galettes

• 1 batch pie dough, recipe included
• 1 lb fresh strawberries
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• Egg wash
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar

Instructions

to make the pie crust

1. Cube butter and place in a bowl in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cake flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Add the butter cubes to the bowl with the dry ingredients and toss them to coat. Using your thumbs and forefinger, flatten each butter piece and begin to work them into the dough until they are the size of black beans. When all of the butter has has been broken dough, make a well in the center of the bowl.
4. Add 3 tbsp of ice water to the bowl and use your fingertips gently toss the mixture until combined. Begin gently kneading the dough, taking care not to overwork it, and adding another tablespoon of water if needed. To test if the dough is moist enough, grab a handful and squeeze it together. If the dough stays clumped together when you open your hand, your dough is ready. If not, add a bit more water and knead a little more.
5. Turn your dough onto a clean work surface and use the heel of your hand to continue gently kneading until there are no more dry patches of flour, but streaks of butter are still visible.
6. Press dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour.
7. When the dough is ready, roll it out on a floured work surface until it is about 1/4” thick.
8. If making one large galette: roll the dough into a circle, roughly 10” in diameter.
9. If making miniature galettes: use a ring or cake pan to cut four 6” circles out of the dough.
10. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and return to the refrigerator until you are ready to fill and bake.

to make the galettes

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Remove the green stems from the strawberries and quarter them. Place berries in a large bowl and toss with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice until all of the berries are well-coated. Let rest for 15 minutes.
3. For one large galette: Spoon half of the berry mixture onto the center of your prepared pie crust, leaving at least 1” border around the edge. Fold the edges of the galette up and over the fruit and press to seal. Brush the edges with egg wash and sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
4. For miniature galettes: Spoon about 1/4 cup of berry mixture into the center of each pie crust and fold the edges up and over the fruit. Press to seal and then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
5. Bake the galettes for 25-28 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden brown and the fruit mixture is bubbling.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a spoonful of the remaining macerated berries.

Notes:

You can substitute any summer fruit that you enjoy in place of strawberries. I recommended tasting your fruit and then adjusting the sugar levels based on the natural sweetness of your fruit.

Pie crust can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer for up to a week or in the freeze for 3 months.

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Roasted Apricot and Ricotta Tart

This simple, summer fruit tart is made with a no-bake ricotta cheesecake filling and topped with honey roasted apricots and spiced pistachios.

‘Tis the season for buying all of the fresh summer produce and piling them into buttery-crusts! Summer is my very favorite baking season because fruit and veggies are in abundance and they really don’t need much coaxing to shine in easy-peasy desserts. This roasted apricot and ricotta tart is a beautiful way to showcase those little golden gems, it’s endlessly adaptable and it will be on repeat in our house this summer.

short crust pastry for tarts

The base of this tart, and really any fruit tart, is a simple short crust pastry. There are three main types of pastry: pâte brissée, pâte sucrée, and pâte sablée. Pâte brissée is your basic pie crust that can be used in sweet or savory applications. The word brisée in French means broken, which makes sense due to the flaky, delicate layers in traditional pie crust. Pâte sucrée is a sweeter crust, traditionally used in tarts. The process is similar to brisée in that butter is worked into dry ingredients, but usually includes the addition of an egg yolk, which shortens the gluten strands in the crust and gives a crumblier, more moist texture. Finally, pâte sablée, or sandy crust, is a more cookie-like crust made with more sugar than the other two and uses the creaming method for mixing. For this tart, and most of our other fruit tarts, we are using a basic pâte sucrée for the base.

I incorporated a bit of spelt flour because I love to play with alternative flours, but you can certainly make this crust using 100% all purpose flour. You could also substitute the spelt flour for an equal amount (by weight) of rye flour or even semolina flour. When experimenting with incorporating alternative flours, I always start at 25% of the total flour weight.

a no-bake ricotta cream filling

The filling for this tart is reminiscent of a cheesecake filling—tangy and lightly sweetened. It’s made by simply creaming together whole-milk ricotta cheese and softened cream cheese until smooth, and then adding a bit of powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon zest. Everything is beaten until very smooth and then poured into the baked crust and allowed to set for at least 4 hours. If you’d like to swap out the ricotta, mascarpone would be a great substitution.

how to make an apricot tart

Apricots are such fun fruits and they are only available for a short window of time so I really wanted them to shine in this tart. Roasting fruit allows helps to gently caramelize them, pulling out and highlighting all of the residual sweetness. Since apricots can be a bit on the tart side, roasting helps the sharpness to mellow out a bit. Pitted apricots are tossed in honey and lemon juice and then allowed to roast in a 350° F oven for 20-30 minutes, until soft and bubbling.

To make the tart, we start with a simple shortcrust pastry. Flour, sugar, and salt are blitzed with cold butter in a food processor, then an egg yolk and a bit of water is added until a dough begins to come together. The dough is pressed together, wrapped, and chilled, before being rolled out and baked in a tart pan.

While the tart shell is cooling, the ricotta filling is whipped together and then poured into the tart shell. Roasted apricots are piled on top and the whole thing heads to the refrigerator for a long chill. Before serving, the tart is sprinkled with spiced pistachios.

Yield: one 9" tart

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Roasted Apricot and Ricotta Tart

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 45 MinInactive time: 4 HourTotal time: 5 H & 15 M

This simple, summer fruit tart is made with a no-bake ricotta cheesecake filling and topped with honey roasted apricots and spiced pistachios.

Ingredients

for the tart crust (adapted from Wild Sweetness by Thalia Ho)

• 1 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (175 g) all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (50 g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp ice water

for the roasted apricots

• 10 apricots, pitted and quartered
• 1 tbsp honey
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Juice of 1/2 of a large lemon

for the ricotta cream filling

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest

for the spiced pistachios

• 1 cup (140 g) pistachios
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

to make the tart crust

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse once or twice and then add the cubed butter. Pulse again for about 30 seconds, until butter is broken up into pea-sized pieces. Add the egg yolk and water and continue to pulse just until dough begins to come together.
2. Turn dough out onto a work surface and gently knead into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to 24 hours.
3. When the dough has chilled, place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll out to a circle about 11” in diameter and 1/4” thickness. Gently transfer the crust to a 9” tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the sides and bottom into the pan and then trim edges. Dock the crust with a fork and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Bake chilled crust for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let cool completely. *Crust can be make a day ahead, wrapped loosely, and stored at room temperature. *

to make the roasted apricot and ricotta tart

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, combine pitted and quartered apricots, 1 tbsp honey, a pinch of salt, and the juice of half of a lemon. Stir to coat and transfer to a baking dish.
3. Roast for 25-30 minutes until apricots are soft and begin to caramelize. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the ricotta and continue to beat until there are no more chunks and mixture is combined. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Continue to mix until everything is well incorporated and cream is light and fluffy.
5. Pour ricotta cream into baked tart shell and use an offset spatula or spoon to smooth into an even layer. Top with cooled, roasted apricots and transfer the entire tart to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or until set.
6. Just before serving, make the spiced pistachios. Preheat oven to 350° F. Toss pistachios, olive oil, honey, and spices together in a large bowl until everything is well-coated. Transfer nuts to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes until deeply golden and caramelized. Let cool completely and then roughly chop. Sprinkle spiced pistachios over finished tart and serve immediately.

Notes:

This tart is endlessly adaptable:

• You can substitute any fruit for the apricots, just keep an eye on them as they roast since different fruits may need a shorter or longer baking time.
• Swap ricotta for mascarpone cheese.
• If you really don't want to turn on your oven, you can easily trade the tart crust for a simple cookie crust. Here's a recipe that you could use.

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