Blueberry Molasses Cake is on my short list for favorite cake of the year. It’s mouthwateringly moist, packed with unique flavor, and downright delicious.
Why is Blueberry Molasses Cake the book-inspired recipe for The Invited?
Since The Invited takes places in Vermont, I wanted a book-inspired recipe that’s quintessentially New England. You can’t get more New England than Yankee Magazine, and I don’t think you can get more New England than this Blueberry Molasses Cake.
It’s no fuss and no frills, it uses basic pantry staples, AND it’s great for using up fresh blueberries that are a little past their prime. Waste not, want not in true practical and Puritanical New England style.
I found the recipe for this cake a few years ago in Yankee Magazine; I was first attracted by its key ingredient of molasses.
Although most people think molasses is reserved for the Christmas season, I happen to enjoy its distinct flavor year-round.
It’s hard finding a molasses-based dessert that doesn’t evoke gingerbread, though, and that’s one of the reasons I really enjoy this Blueberry Molasses Cake.
It’s the perfect way to incorporate this distinctive ingredient without making you feel like you should be trimming a tree while the cake bakes.
Why I love Blueberry Molasses Cake
I’ll be honest: there were quite a few eyebrows when I brought this Blueberry Molasses Cake into work. Blueberry and molasses are an unusual combination of flavors — at least, here in the Mid-Atlantic states.
But, as one colleague told me, “The blueberries and molasses are really diggin’ each other here.”
The combo works. The robust molasses is tempered by the caramel sweetness of brown sugar, and the blueberries twirl in delicious, jammy ribbons throughout the incredibly moist, tender cake.
Each bite is rich and dense, full of warm, deep flavor and fruity bursts of freshness. There’s not too much spice or sugar in the batter, so it really lets the natural flavors of the molasses and blueberries shine through.
In my opinion, Blueberry Molasses Cake tastes bests the day after you bake it. If you eat it while it’s still warm, the molasses taste is incredibly strong — almost overwhelming, actually. For those of you who love (I mean, love) molasses, THIS IS YOUR MOMENT. Get it while it’s hot.
Once the cake has had a chance to cool and rest, the flavor noticeably changes. The molasses mellows and settles into the background, blending perfectly with the other ingredients into something that reminds me a lot of Boston Brown Bread (another New England classic and favorite treat of mine).
A cooled cake also means that the blueberries are no longer like molten lava, which is always a plus. Nothing like a burnt tongue to ruin your dessert experience.
What do you serve with Blueberry Molasses Cake?
Even though you can enjoy Blueberry Molasses Cake any time of year, it’s especially great for this time of year. Spend the day outside raking leaves in the cool, crisp autumn air, then hurry inside to a cozy meal of Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings or Cincinnati Chili. Maybe enjoy a side of cornbread with homemade apple butter. Finish everything off with a slice of Blueberry Molasses Cake dusted with powdered sugar.
