Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Cake

Blueberry season came and went in the blink of an eye this year.  The hot weather earlier this spring has done a number on a lot of the fruit crops here.  Last year I picked blueberries at a local farm.  I spent about an hour picking and picked nearly 15 pounds, most of which I froze and used for smoothies through-out this past year. A couple of weeks ago I went picking again.  I was out for an hour when it began to rain.  I picked a total of 4.8 pounds of blueberries, yes, way fewer than last summer!  I ended up stopping by a farm market to pick up some more blueberries to make up for the lack of those that I picked.

I ate quite a few of the fresh blueberries that I picked, most of them on the way home from the farm.  They were so delicious, I just couldn't stop eating them!  I decided to use some of the blueberries to make a cake.  This blueberry cinnamon roll cake was fantastic.  It's basically a coffee cake, but it's amped up with a delicious swirl of blueberry sauce.  I'm glad that I made this cake, and I'm sure I'll be making it again and again!

Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Cake

Makes 1 9x13" pan, about 16 servings

Blueberry Sauce 

2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake:

3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

Topping:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tablespoons milk (more if needed)

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.  To make the blueberry sauce, place blueberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.

2.  Cook over medium heat, mashing blueberries with a potato masher as you go.

3.  Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Set aside to cool while you make the cake.

4.  Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl.

5.  In a small bowl, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter.  

6.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  

7.  Pour half the cake batter into a greased 9x13" cake pan.

8.  Pour blueberry sauce evenly over the cake batter.  Pour remaining cake batter over the blueberry sauce.

9.  In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon until it resembles wet sand.  Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter.

10.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

11.  While the cake is cooling, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together to make a glaze.  Add just enough milk to reach your desired consistency (mine was a little too thick!)

12.  Pour glaze over the cake.  Allow the cake to cool for 1 hour before cutting into it.  

Adapted from: Eat Cake For Dinner