spellbound

I know I’ve been saying it a lot, but I am so excited that SPRING IS HERE! My son and I walk down the street pointing out green buds on trees, blooming tulips and daffodils and the many other signs that spring has sprung. My favorite place to welcome spring is at the farmers market. The stands are filled with green asparagus, peas, fiddle head ferns and all the beautiful flowers that come with spring. I’ve been writing a lot of recipes for Easter lately and what really excites me are the vegetables!

Here is a menu I’ve been dreaming about with spring’s bounty:

Mint Pea & Goat Cheese Dip with baguette crostini

Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Leek and Potato Galette

Lemon Blueberry Poke Cake

The menu is fresh, innovative and really highlights spring. I have been having a sweet tooth lately too so immediately went to test and modify the cake. Here is my version of the recipe for the Lemon Blueberry Poke Cake made with Gus and Grey Spellbound, Blueberry Lavender Jam.

Happy Friday,

Julie

P.S. Get your Easter orders in by midnight tonight for standard shipping and delivery before Easter.

Lemon Blueberry Poke Cake

Makes 1 9-inch Loaf

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 ¾ cups sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup plain yogurt

5 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup Gus & Grey Spellbound Jam

Lemon Glaze:

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Method:

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper leaving a little extra hanging over the side. Spray the loaf pan with cooking spray.

-Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk lemon zest into sugar into a separate bowl until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add eggs, oil and vanilla and whisk until light in color, about 3 minutes. Whisk in half of the dry ingredients, then add the yogurt. Whisk in the remaining dry ingredients. Add lemon juice and whisk to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan.

-Bake cake until golden brown, 55-60 minutes. Cool for 2 hours or more.

-Once cake is cool, remove from pan and transfer to a baking sheet. Starting at one end, use a 1/8” dowel(or end of a wooden spoon) to make rows of holes in the cake about ¾” apart.

-Transfer Gus & Grey Spellbound Jam into a squeeze bottle. Carefully squeeze the jam into the prepared holes, filling them.

-To prepare the glaze whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon water in a medium bowl. Transfer the cake to a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Spread the glaze over the top of the cake with a spatula, filling in the holes. Toss the blueberries in the bowl to coat. Sprinkle over the top of the cake along with the lemon zest. Chill until the filling and glaze are set, about 1 hour.

-Enjoy

Gus & Grey has been a featured artisan in our marketplace since Julie’s Beet launched in 2015. We’ve just acquired a new jam from their collection, appropriately titled Spellbound. Made with fresh blueberries and just the right amount of lavender you will think you’re under a magic spell from the time you open the jar.

I used this amazing jam to make this Sour Cream Coffee Cake taste even better. I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I do. It is great with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning but fancy enough to double as a birthday cake.

Happy Friday,

Julie

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups granulated sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs, beaten lightly

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 jar Gus & Grey Spellbound -Blueberry Lavender Jam, stirred well

Method:

-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

-Butter a 10-inch bundt pan and lightly dust the inside with flour.

-Sift together and set aside the flour, baking powder and salt.

-In a mixer, or by hand, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, blending well, and then add sour cream and vanilla. Mix until combined.

-Gradually fold in flour, baking powder, and salt into creamed mixture until just blended.

-Reserve 1/2 cup of batter and mix with 3/4 of the jar of blueberry jam.

-Pour 3/4 remaining batter into the prepared pan, smoothing to the edges and creating a slight “trough” with a spatula.

-Gently spoon the blueberry mix into the batter trough, being careful not to touch the side of the pan. Spread the remaining batter over the jam and smooth the top.

-Set pan on middle rack in the oven and bake for about 60 minutes, or until the sides of the cake pull away from the pan and a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted in the center comes out clean.

-Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Turn onto a plate, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, drizzle with remaining jam and enjoy!

Tag: spellbound

Spring Feasting is upon Us