Blueberry Pie Bars
Samantha Seneviratne
1985 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,985
About 1 hour 10 minutes, plus chilling
Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake
- Nonstick cooking spray
- ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
- ¼cup/62 grams unsalted butter, softened
- ¼cup/60 milliliters canola or other neutral oil
- 2large eggs
- ¾cup/165 grams sour cream
- 1¼teaspoons almond extract (optional)
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- 1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- 3tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1⅓cups/186 grams fresh blueberries
- 1tablespoon turbinado sugar
Preparation
- Step 1
Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pan with cooking spray and line the base with parchment paper.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the granulated sugar, butter and oil until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until well combined, then add the sour cream, almond extract (if using), vanilla extract and salt. Beat until well combined.
- Step 3
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds. Mix on low speed until just combined, then fold in 1 cup/140 grams blueberries with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining ⅓ cup/46 grams blueberries on top, then sprinkle on the turbinado sugar.
- Step 4
Bake until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
- Step 5
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and remove the parchment paper. Place a plate or another wire rack on top of the cake and invert it again so the sugared side is up. The cake will keep loosely wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
James Gaston
It's a home-made cake with butter, flour, sugar, and eggs. How is this processed, excuse me, "processed"?
Madison
I think your best bet is to not bake.
Elsbeth in PNW
I rarely use Sour Cream and sub’ed unflavored, unsweetened Yogurt instead- equal measurements, as I do with other cakes and breads. My pantry was out of Poppy Seeds so I sub’ed Orange peal instead- equal measurement. This gave a hint of bright Citrus flavor and goes great with the Blueberries. Delightful cake, not too sweet- perfect to take to work with my lunch. This will go into my weekly rotation.
Hazel Singer
Processed?
Justine
You can rub the blueberries in flour before adding them in. That usually prevents a soggy bottom!
terri
Doesn’t anyone follow a recipe ???
k
Reporting back: as delicious to eat as it was to inhale. A stunningly good cake.
Lynn
Andrea, I haven't used sour cream in years - I sub greek yogurt for any recipe that calls for it (including baked goods). I'm sure you could use part whole wheat flour (though I use white whole wheat because it's lighter and less noticeable). King Arthur gives advice to substitute whole wheat flour by volume (not weight) because it weighs less than white, but absorbs more, so measuring by volume balances it out some. You could swap out honey for the sugar also. Hope this helps. Happy baking!
Angie
I didn't have blueberries so I made this with wild black raspberries from bushes near my house. Also used whole milk plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. It was delicious - just sweet enough for dessert but could also be a breakfast treat.
katherine
This is a delicious cake! Didn’t have sour cream so substituted equal parts Greek yogurt and creme fraiche. Used whole grain white wheat flour. The texture and flavor were lovely. When making again will add a bit of lemon zest as others have suggested as that top note will bring it together.
AnnNY
Cakes are one place to indulge in sour cream. Yogurt does not give the sane consistency which negatively impacts the texture.
Diane D
This cake is insanely delicious! My guests all wanted to take some home with them. Only made one small adjustment - added the zest of one lemon! Great as it is.
TKung
Used applesauce instead of the oil. Perfect.
kahyatonhsera
FWIW, almost all ingredients called for are available in organic versions. I used butter instead of cooking spray, hazelnut oil instead of canola, and substituted 50 g of the all-purpose flour with almond flour. Full-fat Greek yoghurt can replace sour cream, honey for sugar, whole wheat for all-purpose flour, etc., but every change will affect moisture, texture and taste. Maybe try the recipe more than once, making one substitution at a time, to see what works for you. Good luck!
Jessica in N Calif
I subbed all over the place and love this cake: Plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, just 1/2 cup of unbleached white, 1/4 c toasted chopped walnuts. I needed to use up the last of our Desert King figs, so I chopped them into smallish pieces, tossed with flour so they’d distribute evenly in the batter, and added orange zest to complement the figs. The sugar topping is a brilliant touch. I’ll be using this great recipe all year long, with seasonal fruits!
Grace
Fantastic! The mix of oil and butter lends to a great crumb. I used about 40% of a local soft cake whole grain flour and I think this added even more downy softness to the cake. I baked this in a 8 inch pan and it rose up a good 2.5 inches… took at least 50 mins to bake all the way through. Since I’ve started storing poppy seeds in the freezer, I can’t get enough! I also doubled the turbinado sugar and sprinkled on a few tbsps of slivered almonds. Next time, maybe some nutmeg?
Sarah
Quick, easy and delicious. Not too sweet either. Added zest one lemon to the mixture. Brought it to a friend's for dinner and it was quickly gobbled up :)
Iggie
This cake is delicious. I have made it enough times now to experiment a little. The latest iteration is my favorite. Used half cup sugar. Added zest of one lemon and half an orange. With a focus on nutritionally dense ingredients used goat milk yogurt and subbed half cup whole grain flour. Used roasted walnut oil out of curiosity. Used mostly blueberries but added a few chopped raspberries. Baked in convection oven at 350 for 35 mins. 8 inch square. Super yummy.
Weekendwarrior
Just made this for a Sunday lunch and it was delightful, light, not too sweet and with a great texture. Only substitutions I made were all butter instead of a mix of oil and butter, and buttermilk instead of sour cream (that’s what I had at hand). I think yoghurt would work well and maybe mixing 1/3 ground almonds 2/3 flour. Bookmarking for the future
Renee
When I discovered I didn't have enough sour cream, I used cottage cheese I fid not add poppy seeds. I added 2 Tbsp lemon juice, reduced sugar less 1/4 cup Turned out great.
penny
I forgot the oil but beat it in right before folding in the blueberries. It was still perfectly delicious.
Susan
Used chopped apples, gf flour (1 cup .25 cup almond) .25tsp guar gum. Careful not to overbake
Gloria Rubac
If we sub applesauce for butter, is it the same quantity? Trying to cut back on saturated fat.
Gloria Rubac
Sorry--I guess applesauce is subbed for the oil and not the butter. So should i use 1/4 C of applesauce inst4ead of oil.
Nancy Chek
Not my favorite--possibly my fault, since I only had frozen blueberries and couldn't find my poppy seeds so subbed chia seeds, but not interested enough to try again.
Kan
Would love to try it out. But could this be made eggless?
Claire
From the fine folks that have made this cake, thoughts on baking in a bundt pan? Imma little obsessed with bundts...
Sheila
Half white whole wheat and half almond flour. Reduce sugar. Use applesauce instead of oil. Add cinnamon and nutmeg. Increase poppy seeds to 1/4 cup. Super fluffy - very nice cake.
Jill
I made this twice this weekend- doubling the recipe the second time (so really made three!). Absolutely delicious. I made one for a dessert topped with blueberry ice cream Friday night, gave one as a hostess gift for our dinner with friends Sunday night- thinking their family could enjoy an easy breakfast Monday morning, and needed one more for our own Monday breakfast. The almond extract is a must, but it’s just lovely all around. Thanks for another keeper!
Aya
Beautiful cake that will definitely stay in my rotation. Tasted even better after it aged overnight on the counter, wrapped/covered of course. Used black currants instead of blueberries, and while a little tart, was still delicious. Didn't have enough full fat sour cream so used non-fat Greek yogurt for the remaining amount.
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