Sweet Corn Cake with Blueberry-Lavender Compote (Fine Cooking)

Here's another use for all that fresh summer corn. A lavender-scented topping lends an elegant touch to this rustic cake. To cook the corn, boil it in lightly salted water until tender3 to 5 minutes, depending on how fresh the corn is. You can skip sifting the cornmeal if youÂd like a coarser texture in the cake.

For the cake:
6 oz. (12 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan
4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
2-1/4 oz. (1/2 cup) sifted stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup cooked fresh corn kernels (from about 1 large ear)
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten

For the compote:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. dried lavender
1-1/4 cups cooked fresh corn kernels (from about 2 medium ears)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x2-inch round cake pan. Fit a circle of parchment in the bottom of the pan and butter that as well.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk in the cornmeal; set aside.

Purée the corn kernels in a food processor until smooth. Strain the purée through a fine sieve, pressing with a rubber spatula to extract the liquid; scrape any purée off the bottom of the sieve into the liquid and then discard the remaining solids. Measure 1/4 cup of the strained corn liquid and transfer to a small bowl (discard any excess liquid). Stir in the sour cream.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. On low speed, slowly pour in the beaten eggs, mixing until incorporated and stopping midway to scrape down the sides. (The mixture will be loose and curdled-looking.)

On low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Add one-third of the sour cream-corn mixture and mix until just blended. Alternate adding the remaining flour and sour cream mixtures in two additions each. Do not overmix.

Scrape the batter into the cake pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and then gently invert the cake onto the rack. Remove the parchment, turn the cake right side up onto the rack, and let cool completely.

Make the compote:

Combine the sugar and 2/3 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat. Add the lavender and stir to combine. Let infuse for 10 minutes, then strain the syrup into a small bowl and let cool.

When ready to serve the cake, stir the corn and blueberries into the syrup. Cut the cake into wedges, and top each serving with about 3 Tbs. of the mixture, letting most of the syrup drain off the spoon before sprinkling the blueberries and corn over the cake.

Blueberry Bread (Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts.....optional

Directions
1.Mix together beaten eggs with the sugar. Add milk and melted shortening or vegetable oil.
2.Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Combine mixtures, stirring only until blended. Carefully fold in fresh or frozen blueberries and broken walnut pieces.
3.Pour into greased 5 x 12 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan but try to turn it out of pan before it is totally cool. It will be easier to remove. Can also be made in a normal size loaf pan or can be made into 2 pans.

Had to make this twice, this past weekend

2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, divided

HONEY MAID Grahams Chocolate Sticks

PLACE chocolate in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min., stirring after 30 sec. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

ADD 1/2 cup of the whipped topping; stir until well blended. Gently stir in remaining 1 cup whipped topping; cover.

REFRIGERATE at least 30 min. Serve as a dip with the graham sticks

I like to serve with honey wheat twisted pretzel sticks

We just ran out of these from the last jar I made, so time to make some more. We just love the crunchy, sweet, hot taste.

HOT SWEET DILL PICKLES

1 quart (bought) dill pickles, drained and sliced - cheapest kind work well
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
3 or 4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and cut in half

Drain and slice pickles about ¼" thick. Layer pickles, sugar, red pepper, and garlic in pickle jar. Turn jar once each day until sugar dissolves. Let stand about a week before eating.

Beef Stoganoff

1 1/2 to 2 pounds top sirloin roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup beef bouillon or broth
1 medium onion, quartered and sliced
3 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
Preparation:
Cut beef into narrow 2-inch long strips about 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan. Blend in flour; gradually stir in beef broth, stirring and cooking until thickened and smooth. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; quickly brown meat strips and onion on all sides. Add meat and onions to beef sauce. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes; stir in sour cream and heat through but do not boil. Serve over buttered noodles or rice.
Serves 4.

This is the Original Recipe I started with: But, I now use more mushrooms and about 1 cup of sourcream. It's yumo! Just made it last night.

Blackeyed Pea Cornbread..... on my goodness.... soooo good!

BLACK EYED PEA CORNBREAD

1 pound spicy ground pork sausage (I use mild)
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup white corn meal
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
¾ cup cream-style corn
¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles
Cook sausage and onion in a skillet, stirring until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain.
Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda.
Stir together eggs, buttermilk, and oil until combined. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. (Batter will not be smooth.) Add sausage mixture, peas, and remaining ingredients to batter, stirring well.
Pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden and set.