Hello June ..

J

June is here .. the weather is perfect one day. pouring rain one day, breezy in the morning, high humidity in the afternoon .. keep on going like that for almost 2 weeks.  Kids still enjoying the afternoon swimming, ice cone , they laughing, playing non stop ..  oh this kids grows big together too fast .. hope they will always be a best friend ..

I picked some fresh herbs a couple days ago, try to add more 'green' on our kitchen window .  Its smell good , thou .. I might pick some more next time I pass the Home Depot :) yep, that my favorite store for now beside fabric store hahaha ..  Right, I don't have much of sewing this day  since I have kid who has a summer break, it's hard to find a free time to do what I like to do but still excuse myself to picked some fabrics for summer clothes, its really sloooow progress from cutting to finish .. 

Baking ? well. still do but its really simple one .. like tea cake style like this one, blueberry cake I've been tag for a week from Patricia Scarpin blog - she always have a simple cake recipe which suit for me very well .. 

Cream cheese and blueberry cake

Adapted from Patricia Scarpin 

Blueberry compote:

1 cup (140g) blueberries – frozen blueberry works well too

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake:

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

finely grated zest of 1 large orange

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

180g cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons Cointreau (optional) 

Start by making the compote: place the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan and warm until the berries soften and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes – stir occasionally. Squash the berries with the back of a spoon as you stir. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 5 ½ cup-capacity loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and cream cheese and cream until light and fluffy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the Cointreau (if using). On low speed, add the flour mixture mixing only until incorporated – do not overmix.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Top with the blueberries, keeping most of the juice (so the cake don’t get soggy). Swirl the berries through the cake with a butter knife. Smooth out the top without mixing too much.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serves 8