A rich, tender upside down cake made with wild blueberries and hazelnut meal inspired by ingredients of Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. It's served with an almond-scented Meadowsweet flower cream.
½cuphazelnut oil, grapeseed oil, or You can use just about any cooking oil. For the show I used Sam Thayer's hickory nut oil.
¾cupsugar
1teaspoonvanilla
1 Teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoonsalt
¼cupcrème fraiche or sour cream
Serving
Meadowsweet cream (Optional) see recipe
Campanula flowers (Optional) Optional, I like these as they're mild tasting and blue.
Dried blueberry powder (Optional) This is mostly to make it easier for me to take pictures of whipped cream.
1cup fresh wild blueberries, to garnish (Optional)
Instructions
Lining the cake pan
Heat the maple sugar, butter and a pinch of salt until melted and pour into the bottom of a buttered 9 inch pie pan or similar. Add the wild blueberries and shake the pan to help them settle into a relatively smooth layer.
For the cake batter
Mix the hazelnut meal, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and reserve. Whip the sugar, vanilla and eggs until pale, add the sour cream and whip.
Drizzle in the hickory nut oil. Fold in the flours with a spatula by hand until completely combined.
Pour the batter on top of the blueberries.
Baking
Bake 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until just set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serving
Allow to cool completely before slicing. For the most dramatic presentation, unmold it onto a platter as pictured. Cut the cake into slices and serve with the meadowsweet cream (optional-recipe follows).
Garnish with a few flowers, a few wild blueberries and a sprinkle of wild blueberry powder, if using.
After cooling, the cake can be stored, covered in clingfilm in the refrigerator. It will last up to a week but will lose some of it's luster over time. I like to reheat it a bit before serving to refresh it.