Since I have completed college and no longer have to cook for a grade (just a paycheck) I have felt a little constrained. At school, we had creative freedom with the plates we presented, we got to play with color, texture, even sound of our food. It was an amazing outlet. There was always a great variety of fresh produce, herbs, different kinds and cuts of meat, exotic spices, and expensive alcohols to play with (not to drink). I could go in every day for eleven weeks and never make the same dish twice. I loved that part of school.
At work, though since starting my new job, I feel so much more connected to the food that goes on everyone’s plates, I am not able to be creative. I follow someone else’s recipes and plate according to someone else’s eye. *
*No, I am not planning on ever opening a restaurant. That ship has sailed.
What I find myself doing now, to release my creative frustrations, is night baking.
I haven’t done any serious baking in a year, and I began to crave it. Not the taste of the cookies or the cake, but the smell in the house, the sound of the mixer, the way the batter looks swirled around in the bowl. It is different than cooking. It isn’t quick, hot, stressful, or loud. It is slow, mellow, sweet, and comforting.
Last night’s baking adventure had me running to the closet for my old stand by pound cake recipe. Which I promptly realized was totally, technically wrong. So I tweaked it! (Thanks Chef Turner)
ATTENTION: I did it wrong… I left out one ingredient and almost put it in the pans before adding the baking powder. It worked, it tasted yummy and this recipe has been tweaked even more for your viewing pleasure!
I am not a baker. I am not even a chef. I am just a girl who likes to have her fun by destroying her mother’s kitchen midnight.
Blueberry Maple Pound Cake!
- 4 sticks butter, softened*
- 1 cup white sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 6 eggs
- ¼ cup almond milk (or regular milk. My brothers are lactose intolerant so we never have that in the house)
- ½ cup maple syrup (The real stuff. Do yourself a favor. It is not only better tasting, but better for you)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I make my own... I should blog on that)
- 3 1/3 cup flour, all purpose
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (heaping) cup of blueberries**
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pan(s) or bunbt pan. Heck, do them in muffin tins, that would be awesome… why didn’t I think of that last night!
Cream together butter and sugars until they have reached the consistency of, wait for it, airy sand. It sounds super weird, I know, I had a chef tell me that in school. I didn’t believe him… then I realized, that is just how it feels. Really.
Stop mixer, scrape down the sides.
In a separate bowl, crack your eggs and beat up. If you feel like shouting some insults it can only help.
Slowly. SLOWLY! Add the egg mixture. If you add it all at once like I did, (my chefs are just itching to fail me for this mistake) your mixture will curdle. Which looks gross. Don’t do it.
Combine milk, maple syrup, and extracts together and slowly stream into the mixture.
Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides.
While the mixer is off, add your flour, baking powder, and salt. It is preferred if you mix them together first, but if you are like me, you will almost forget the baking powder and omit the salt on accident.
Combine until just mixed. Make sure there are no lumps, but don’t just keep mixing to be sure. If it looks lump free STOP the mixer. You can work out any hidden lumps with a spatula.
Pour in your blueberries and gently mix by hand. I kept mine frozen so they wouldn’t break open during the mixing and turn my batter blue. Smurf cake anyone? If yours are thawed or fresh, just be very gentle.
Okay, you are done! Time to put them in the oven, set the time for about an hour, and lick the bowl. I mean, clean up!
If you try this recipe, lets me know. Tag me on Instagram if you take a picture! @thatgeekyginger
*I always leave mine on the counter for a few hours, or stick them in the microwave on the lowest defrost setting turning them occasionally. Please don’t melt… it’s not the same
** I used frozen blueberries. Firstly, cause they are out of season in Michigan. Secondly, because frozen blueberries don’t “bleed” in the batter the way thawed blueberries do.
