Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

I baked these a couple of months back, when blueberries were in season. A really versatile buttermilk cake, with a light tender crumb & subtle tang from the buttermilk. It is perfect on its own (moist and flavourful, without the need for any glaze/frosting) & very, very addictive!
In the heat of the oven, the cakes rose perfectly & became a gorgeous golden hue. With pockets of blueberries releasing their juices & leaving deep-purple trails behind that tasted alot like slow-cooked blueberry jam. Mmm...Blueberry Buttermilk Cake
adapted from Gourmet Magazine's Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

150g organic cake flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t sea salt
60g unsalted french butter
100g organic demerara sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
130ml buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 180C. Sift dry ingredients together. On medium speed, cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla, mixing well to combine. On low speed, add in dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in blueberries. Pour the batter into cake pans & bake. My mini-loaf pans took about 20 min to bake.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes

These Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes were made some time back when my sister asked me to bake cupcakes for a friend's birthday. These cupcakes always come out perfect & the buttermilk gives it a delicious tang. I mixed up some chocolate ganache frosting & added some colourful sprinkles on top.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
this is my no-fail recipe for vanilla cupcakes. moist, buttery & golden cupcakes everytime!

245g (1 3/4 cups) cake flour
1/2 t salt ( I used Pink Himalayan Salt)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter
110g (1 cup) sugar
2 large eggs
2 t pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (alternatively, use half sour cream & half milk)

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together cake flour, salt, baking soda & baking powder. Set aside. Beat softened butter until creamy, then add sugar. With the mixer on medium speed, cream the mixture until light & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. On low speed, add 1/3 of the dry mixture followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat, ending with adding in the last 1/3 of dry mixture. Beat just to incorporate.
Portion batter into 12 cupcake liners and bake for 20 min, until golden. A tester inserted should come out clean. Cool for 5 min before turning out onto a wire rack.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting
a really simple ganache. rich, dark & delicious.

220g good-quality dark chocolate (I used one with 72% cocoa)
1 C heavy cream
1-3 T sugar (add according to preference)
1 T unsalted butter
optional: 1 T liqueur (rum, brandy, bailey's, kalua)

Chop the chocolate into evenly sized small pieces. Heat the cream in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate. Let it sit for about 3 min before whisking until smooth. Add butter and liqueur (if using) and sugar to taste. Allow the ganache to cool, it will thicken up.

Once cooled, frost the cupcakes with a generous dollop of ganache.