Saturday, December 10th, 2011 is a BIG day in the food blogging world this year, because Marnely Rodriguez – of
Cooking With Books – is getting hitched!
I have mentioned my love for Nelly on more than one occasion, but she is hands-down the most supportive blogger and baker out there, not only to me, but to
hundreds of others. If you ever read the comments on my posts, you’ll see that Nelly has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement from the very beginning… and that doesn’t include the thousands of e-mails and direct Twitter messages that have been sent back and forth: ‘if I add this to the batter, do I subtract more of that?’ ‘What should I do if this happens, and that blows up?’ Yikes.
Nelly’s sort of omnipresent – I once called her Blogger Santa (everywhere and anywhere all in one night!) – responding to my desperate questions, always in a matter of seconds. A CIA-trained baker, I really value her advice and opinions.
It’s because of Nelly’s sheer wonderfulness that a massive outpouring of love, support, and affection has been scheduled for today as a sort of
virtual wedding shower for Nelly and her fiance Brian. The shower was conceptualized and organized by Sanjeeta KK of
Lite Bite, while Elizabeth of
Queen’s Notebook wrote a lovely description of Nelly’s engagement, along with a
Blogger’s Recipe for Nelly’s Wedded Bliss that’s really worth checking out! Many participants in #NellysBigDay are married and have offered their two cents on what makes a marriage work, along with a recipe for Nelly’s collection. I’m not in the position to offer any advice – *cough* – but I
will share a wonderful recipe for one of the many quiet mornings that she and Brian will spend together over the coming years… and decades!
It’s so easy to whip up and needs infinitely less attention than pancakes, while still satisfying that pancake craving (and then some). So, for Nelly and Brian, here is the ever delicious and pleasing Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake for a cozy breakfast in bed someday. And hey – I bet this would be great with bananas – Nelly’s favourite!
I got this recipe from the blog
Alexandra’s Kitchen. I followed her recipe exactly and modified only the end result, when I drizzled the cake with butter and maple syrup rather than dusting it with icing sugar. Make sure you check out Alexandra’s website because it is chock full of
hundreds of amazing recipes in both the cooking and baking departments!
Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake
from Alexandra’s Kitchen
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk 1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes.
(Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.)
Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 6-8.
Congratulations Nelly and Brian! You deserve all the happiness this world has to offer. I hope you know how much we all love and appreciate you. I hope tomorrow is amazing and filled with beautiful memories that will fill your hearts with happiness for years and years to come. xo
___
Check out what everyone else brought to Nelly’s shower!
