Sorry about not posting a recipe for “foodie friday” this past week! Our feeble efforts to make fish and chips weren’t as successful as we had hoped. There was grease everywhere and my fish turned out to be more like tempura-fried fish than your typical fluffy, golden, crispy goodness you find at the pubs around the Maritimes. Blame the Asian in me. However, Hannah’s (my sister-in-law) chips were delicious. Needless to say, I’m not a big fan of frying, so we’ll try the baked stuff next time.

However, do not fear, here’s a wonderful recipe to try! It’s great on a blustery day like today (thanks, Irene), and as blueberry season comes to a close. We saw boxes of blueberries on sale at Sobey’s last week, so take advantage!

This recipe is from”Flavours of Prince Edward Island: a culinary journey“, a gift from my mother-in-law last Christmas. Enjoy!

Serves 8

1/2 lb (250 g) unsalted butter (browned, cooled- see tip below*)
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
2 cups (500 mL) fresh blueberries
3/4 cup (185 mL) chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cardamom
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Grease eight 3-inch (8cm) ramekins. (We actually didn’t have ramekins, so improvised and used a casserole dish to make a cake which we cut into squares)

2. In a large bowl combine the cooled brown butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

3. Fold in the blueberries, flour, pecans (we didn’t have these either and they tasted just fine, so if you don’t have them on hand like we us, or have allergies, or just prefer no nuts than feel free to omit them), cardamom (this is a must have-it is amazing how much it brings out the blueberry flavour) and salt. Do not overmix as this will make the cake a bit tough.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared ramekins (or whatever dish you are using) until three-quarters full and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes in the centre of the oven. A toothpick should come out clean when the cakes are done.

5. Run a knife around the inside of the ramekins to loosen the cakes. Turn them out onto a wire rack and allow to cool slightly. These are best served warm with a generous dollop of maple syrup-doused whipped cream.

*Tip!
Browning butter is really quite straightforward. Place 1/2 lb (250 g) of butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Allow the butter to melt completely without stirring. It will begin to bubble, cooking out its water content. After this it will come to the foaming stage. It’s very easy to see when the butter is t this stage. It will start to smell very nutty, and the foam will start to change colour slightly. You will see small brown bits- caramelized milk solids- come up through the foam. When this happens, remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a metal bowl to cool. (Be careful, the bowl gets very hot very quickly!)

Happy baking!

xoxo