Can't Bring Me Down Blueberry Cake

I've been high since Friday morning. No, it's not what you're thinking. I haven't been using any illegal substances, this is a 100% natural type high. On Friday, June 27th, I finally received my National Chiropractic Board Exam Part IV scores. For those of you unfamiliar with board exams, they are national level tests that you have to pass to be a licensed professional for a given state or country. The Chiropractic Board has 4 parts, which you take during certain parts of your curriculum. Each portion tests different aspects of your education, with the last portion having an oral and practical portion. It's actually kind of cool, they have actors pretending to be patients and they act out their injury/condition. You perform exams and question them, and then come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan. The test was 3 hours, and the my fellow students and I were pretty amped the whole time. So basically speaking, this last portion is as big a deal as Ron Burgundy.

I'm in a ridiculous wicked awesome mood because I rocked it. Seriously, nothing can get me down right now. I've busted my ass for 3 years, taking some 25-30 credits a semester, and the light is finally at the end of the tunnel. It's not even a train either. I'm going to be a doctor in November. It blows my mind. Unbelieveable. All I need now is the Jets to win a superbowl, a nice house on the beach, get out of debt, and I'm just about set. Sounds too simple? I like simple. People make drama when they get bored.

So anyways, I didn't mean to make this a chiropractic rant, I'm just super excited to almost be done with school. If anyone has any questions about chiropractic or going through it's program, I'm more than glad to help. I have my own beliefs and methods of treatment, and if you would like to discuss those, feel free to contact me on email. For those of you who don't know anything about our schooling, I found this link.

So what does this have to do with blueberries? Um, probably nothing. The other day, Emiline over at Sugar Plum had a nice post on blueberries. I've been eating them by the pint this whole week, and thought, hey sweet idea. I'm sure you've been over to her site already (she's a big deal too), but if not, do head over.

I combined two recipes for this cake and added my own spins. I took part of Dorie's recipe for a blueberry brown sugar cake, and part of recipe from Eating Well for coconut blueberry muffins. My mom just bought me this new small braided pan, so I decided to use it. Yes my mom still buys me things... she's the reason I'm a baker :)

Blueberry Coconut Cake
Recipe by Adam

-2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
-2 Tbsp canola oil
-1 egg, beaten
-3 Tbsp honey
-1 cup buttermilk
-1/4 cup coconut, unsweetened
-pinch of salt
-1 1/2 cups blueberries


Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease your 12 cup muffin tin, or small bundt pan, or 8x8 dish.


In a large bowl, pour the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix so it's all evenly together.


In another bowl, place the sugar with the egg, melted butter, oil, and honey. Mix so it forms a nice, lump free, brown mixture. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the wet mix in. Fold gently with a spatula, so the mixture comes together. Treat it like a muffin batter, and do not overmix. Fold in the coconut and blueberries.


Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until it springs back lightly to the touch.


This cake tastes great on it's own. I may be a loner on this one, but I usually prefer unfrosted cakes to frosted ones. I think if a cake can stand on its own, then it's a damn good cake. That's not to say there isn't room in life for buttercream, but hey if it's not broke, don't fix it. Add a dusting of powdered sugar, and I think you're ready to rock and roll. There won't be a blue mood in the house. Blue fingers though... well that's your problem.

Comments

test it comm said…
Congratulations! Blueberry baked goods are among my favorites and that cake looks great! I like the sound of the coconut and blueberry combo. I also like the use of the whole wheat flour. It looks nice an light and moist.
LizNoVeggieGirl said…
Ahhh, MAJOR congratulations, Adam!! You definitely deserve to celebrate with a big slice of that scrumptious Blueberry-Coconut Cake :0)
hungryandfrozen said…
Wow nice one! Congrats! That cake-muffin thing looks so good, even though I don't really *need* any cake I might have to make it anyway.
Lore said…
Congrats on your exam! The cake looks mighty GOOD!
Emily said…
I like ALL cake. Frosting or no frosting.

This looks great! Look how the blueberries are perfectly dispensed throughout the cake. Good pictures, by the way.

Congrats on your test score! November will be here before you know it.
Anonymous said…
CONGRATS!! I know exactly how you are feeling. I finished my 3rd and final year of graduate school last year and i couldn't believe it was almost over till I turned in that thesis. i wanted to kill myself and my husband by the end of it all. it is a TOTAL natural high. but you work so hard for it, unlike unnatural highs which just take work to score.
A_and_N said…
Hey Adam, congrats on your scores and your impending doctorhood!

The cake looks amazing! Is it possible to use all-purpose flour instead of pastry flour?
A.
Congrats to you!!!

And a cake on top of that. I'm officially impressed.
Adam said…
Kev - Thanks bud I appreciate it.

Veggie - Ha I've actually eaten about half of it... I might have to work out more now.

Laura - We always need cake. Think of how healthy blueberries are... uh yeah that's the reason.

Lore - Thanks!

Em - Thanks a lot. I totally agree that time flies by. Sometimes the past 3 years feel like a Thursday night blur, and I have no idea what happened or how I got here.

Amy - Congrats on your grad school also. I'm sure you went through the same awesome feeling I have.

A- Thanks! Sure you can use whatever flour you like, I just had the wheat on hand, and the blueberries are sweet enough to match the heartiness of the flour.

Rachel - Thanks a lot!
Thistlemoon said…
That looks great Adam! I love the combination of blueberries and lemon together - match made in heaven. I agree with all your statements about Emiline too - she rocks!

And SUPER HUGE congrats to you on your boards! That is a major accomplishment! I love chiropractors! I worked for one for 5 years and learned so much. There are so many ways one can branch out.

Oh, and welcome to The Foodie Blogroll! :)
Steph said…
Nice bundt! Good for you for modifiying 2 recipes and making it work. A cake as delicious as your doesn't need frosting!
ShellyH said…
That blueberry cake looks marvelous! I love blueberry anything!

Welcome to the foodie blog roll!
Anonymous said…
you know I must make a blueberry pound cake once every other week. I never thought to add coconut to it. What a great idea. Looks good.
Blueberry cake AND a doctorate?! My friend, you are one step closer to me mooching a living off you....congrats man, you worked for every bit of it!