Blueberry Breakfast Cakes

Preheat oven to 380F (will be increased to 400).

Line metal muffin trays with paper liners and set aside.

*If using frozen berries, keep frozen until the last second! I’ll tell you when to take them out of the freezer in the directions.

Mix all the dry ingredients (through sugar) in a large bowl. Use a whisk or fork to incorporate everything very well. Remove 1 Tbs of this dry mix and place in a small bowl and set aside (this is for coating your blueberries).

In another bowl (or 2 cup liquid measure, I find that easier), mix your yogurt, oil, vanilla and prepared “egg”. Whisk well to incorporate.

Get your blueberries from the freezer (or fresh), measure out 1 Cup and place in the small bowl with the 1 Tbsp of dry ingredients. Toss to coat. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, getting every bit (a rubber spatula helps). Using your rubber spatula or a wide wooden spoon, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Once it is JUST incorporated, scatter blueberries on top.

You have 3 stirs to mix them in, so make them count. I’m not kidding.

See, here’s the deal. Frozen blueberries tend to turn everything, well, blue. You want your cake part to be yellow, not some weird purple-gray color. Any more than 3-4 stirs and that protective coating of dry ingredients we tossed in the berries will start to come off and dye your batter. (Fresh blueberries aren’t this fussy.) The good news is that uou really can stir them in in just 3 turns, even though you’ll really really want to stir more.

Once the berries are mixed in, distribute all the batter into your tins. You’ll feel like you’re over-filling a bit, but that’s a-okay. These don’t really rise all that much so it’ll be fine. Add up to 1/2 Cup more blueberries over the tops, pressing them into the batter gently but not submerging them.

Sand cakes with a (un)healthy amount of sugar, using a coarser sugar if you’ve got it, such as Sugar in the Raw.

Place them in the oven and increase the temperature to 400. Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle or top-middle rack of your oven, turning halfway to ensure even cooking. They’re done when a toothpick comes out clean and the tops are a rich golden brown.

Let cool on a wire rack. They’re delicate when they’re hot so be careful when transferring them. These taste amazing at room temperature, so wait as long as you can to try one.