Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cake

Did you know that mosquitoes can bite through spandex? Well if not then you should be forewarned. It's been a bit chillier here in NYC the past few days and so it made sense to me that I wear spandex leggings to running practice. (Okay while we are being honest I will admit that I wore spandex leggings to practice throughout the summer - 90 degree weather or not. I have this psychosomatic belief that they stabilize my knee. It's ridiculous.) When I got to Central Park at 6:30 on Tuesday night, the mosquitoes had definitely come out to play but I thought I was safe being that the majority of my body was covered. The mosquitoes, however, must not have heard about this rule. To them, nothing is sacred. And so I came home to find my butt covered in mosquito bites. Which made for a very uncomfortable five hours of class both yesterday and on Wednesday. I'm sure my fellow classmates now have an interesting first impression of me.

Not that this has anything to do with this cake, which was born of a homework assignment that I didn't want to do. Seriously, if you want to get massive amounts of baked goods out of me - just give me some chemistry problems - specifically acid/base titrations. You'll get a few cakes and maybe even a pie or two in no time.

I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks, where Heidi mentions that she found it in an old issue of Gourmet. It's remarkable for its lack of sugar (it is sweetened entirely by molasses) and its low amount of butter. That being said, if you like molasses, which I do, then you will love this cake. One of my friends described it as being subtle and it's true, the flavor does kind of creep up on you as the buttery molasses melds with the tart blueberries and the sweet, homemade whipped cream. In my opinion, it is the perfect excuse to not be doing homework at 10 pm.
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cake
Serves 8, adapted from Gourmet via 101 Cookbooks

1 cup plus 2 tsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
5 tbsp almond milk (divided)
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp butter, barely melted
1 1/2 cups blueberries, frozen

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch cake pan.

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In one bowl, whisk together the cider vinegar and 3 tbsp milk. In another bowl, whisk together the molasses and 2 tbsp milk. Mix the contents of the vinegar bowl into the molasses bowl. Whisk in the eggs.

4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined. Add in the butter and the blueberries.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes. Whip some heavy cream with some sugar until you get whipped cream and serve.