Happy Belated 4th of July Part II

Yesterday I shared with you the first of two fun 4th of July treats I whipped up during my extended 4th of July celebration. On Friday, Bax dog and I traveled up to Baltimore to spend the weekend with the fam and, more excitedly, partake in 4th of July cookout numero dos.

I have always been a huge fan of summer cookouts. Growing up, it never felt like summer until my dad whipped up the first round of hamburgers, ribs, and sausage links on the grill. This is my fourth summer since I stopped eating red meat and the smell of smoked/grilled meats remains the only thing that makes me miss it. As a work around during grill season, I usually talk my dad into grilling my vegetarian items as well. My dad's grilling always includes a special (homemade) sauce that he puts on all burgers and other meat products (I actually blame this sauce for why I hate bar-b-que sauce....it just never lives up) and this time I got him to make a little for my portobello mushroom and the veggie dogs Sister and I were to be consuming. Although I'm sure most carnivors would disagree, it was a delightful substitution.

For my second 4th of July cookout (or "Pho 4th" as I took to calling it), I was all about making use of my beloved cake stand and whipping up a refreshing dessert to counter the string of 100 degree days we've been experiencing and to top off the meal. Once again, my love of fresh blueberries prevailed in my recipe selection. I used this find as inspiration but then blended a couple different recipes to achieve the final product. It was a little touch and go during decorating time (I feared I'd overshot my ambitions) but Sister talked me off the ledge and a masterpiece was born (that was probably a little boastful, but I was really proud I pulled this out)

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients


Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake
Adapted from this one with some changes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 10 ounces fresh blueberries (I just guessed put in a good distribution)

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from this one (my go to buttercream)

• 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest

Preparation [cake]

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle of oven. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans 
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside
3. Beat butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Add egg and beat well
4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches, mixing until just combined. Add berries and fold in with a spoon
5. Pour batter into cake pan, spreading and smoothing the top
6. Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes

Preparation [frosting]

1. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes
2. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes. (After every 2 additions, increase speed to high, and beat for 10 seconds, then reduce speed to medium-high). Add vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest; beat until buttercream is smooth (I had to add about a Tbsp more sugar to thicken it up a little)

Time to eat

Bax always sits with us....she's little a little person

Lemon Meets Blueberry

Yes, lemon is back! I warned you with my lemon cupcakes last week that lemon is not only my current obsession, but also that I acquired a bag of lemons at market and was more than a little excited to put each and every one of them to use. With the weekend on the horizon (actually, lets not pretend, it's Friday, I'm already in full weekend mode), I was tired of my bag of lemons staring at me from the top of the fridge and decided it was time for another lemon-infused recipe! 

I'm heading to Baltimore later today to spend Easter weekend with the family. At the age of 15, I proclaimed myself the favorite child of my parents (I have no shame sometimes). Sister was younger and weaker then and thus I wasn't challenged in assuming my position, which I went onto hold for many years. In recent years, however, Sister has gotten much stronger than me (terrifyingly so,as I have little to no upper body strength with which to adequately defend myself) and has begun a somewhat successful campaign to unseat me as favorite! I'm more than 90% certain that I'll always be my father's favorite, but Mother is more of a wild card. Sister and I have decided that she has days (she doesn't announce them, you can just tell if it's your day because you can do no wrong in her eyes and the other sister can do no right...for the record, she claims this doesn't happen, but we witness it every time the three of us are together), but I'm also certain that she favors Sister in general more than me. Sorry, for the long diatribe, that went on way longer than I thought it would! Nonetheless, I said all that to say that the last time Sister came to town (I wasn't there) I got word that she came bearing her famous chocolate chip cookies for Papa! I was irate! Now she's trying to win him over too?! That's where I draw the line. I've already all but ceded Mother to her, I'm not about to lose Papa too! Thus, I knew I could not show up empty handed this time around...enter the bag of lemons.

There are two baked goods that my dad loves above all others: blueberry muffins and chocolate chip cookies. Mother had been coaxing me to make the chocolate chip cookies I featured earlier in the week for him, but I knew they would just be compared to Sister's and wouldn't hold a candle to her's. Thus, I decided to pursue his other favorite treat. I'd found a recipe for blueberry lemon cupcakes a while back, but since I'm making a couple desserts for Easter, decided to take that idea but spin it into a muffin. Victory! 

Lemon Blueberry Flax Muffins

[Inspiration found here]

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (next time I want to try agave nectar here instead)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
• 1 cup blueberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flaxseed and next 7 ingredients (flaxseed through nutmeg) in a medium bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal
3. Combine buttermilk, egg, and lemon rind; stir well with a whisk. Add to dry mixture; stir just until moist. Gently fold in blueberries
4. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray or muffin cups
5. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched. Remove muffins from pans immediately, and place on a wire rack to cool

*Bax dog and I sampled one and it was delish, fingers crossed Papa thinks the same!