Cast Iron Blueberry Ginger Buttermilk Cake

Adapted this recipe from Cook’s Country Magazine – April/May 2025. I used blueberries instead of rasberries. Totally exceptional!!! Easy to prepare. 

INGREDIENTS

8 tablespoons salted butter

354 grams all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

198 grams sugar (plus a little extra to sprinkle over cake before baking)

2 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

Lemon zest from 3 lemons

1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Gourmet Pure Vanilla Bean Paste

2 cups blueberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Melt butter in 10″ cast iron skillet over low heat. Once butter has melted, remove from heat, swirl butter around to coat bottom and sides. Pour butter into a small bowl, but leave residual butter in pan.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt together in medium bowl and set aside.

Whisk 1 cup sugar and eggs in large bowl until pale and creamy, just a minute or so. Whisk the cooled butter into the egg/sugar mixture until it is thick and creamy. Whisk in the buttermilk, lemon zest and vanilla until evenly combined. Using a silicone spatula, fold the flour mixture into the buttermillk mixture until just combined. Gently fold the blueberries into the cake batter.

Transfer the cake batter into the cast iron skillet and smooth the top. Generously sprinkle some more sugar on the top.

Bake at 350 degrees until cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (about 40 to 45 minutes).

This cake is sure to be a favorite in your home.

This is a must go to bread. Super easy and so delicious. Credit for this bread recipe go to Alexandra Stafford. It’s in her book – Bread, Toast, Crumbs. It was released last year and shortly after publication, it made the New York Times bestseller list. Ali has a great YouTube channel as well.  I hope you enjoy this bread as much as my family does.

512g     Unbleached all-purpose or bread flour

10g        Kosher salt

8g          Sugar

8g          SAF Instant Yeast

50g        Melange Pour le Pain

454g     Distilled water @ 78˚

Softened butter

2            1 quart bowls

• Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast and pour le pain.
• Slowly add the water and mix thoroughly until dry ingredients are absorbed.
• Let it rise in proofer (covered with towel) until doubled in size. About one hour.
• Preheat oven to 425˚.
• Generously butter the 2 bowls.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, using 2 forks, scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and bring the dough to the center of the bowl.
• Using the 2 forks divide the dough while it’s still in the bowl.
• Scoop the dough into each prepared bowl.
• Put the bowls into the proofer and cover with a towel.
• Let the dough rise until it doubles in size (about 30 minutes).
• Brush the top of the dough with melted butter.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to 375˚
• Bake for another 15 minutes or until temperature reached 210˚.

VARIATIONS:

• Use 3 cups whole wheat flour
• Substitute 1 cup of flour with cornmeal.
• Make focaccia instead of 2 loaves. Spread ½ dough into a 9×9 glass baking dish and put the other dough into the 1 quart bowl.