Authentic Maine Blueberry Cake

Blueberries dusted with flour. — Be sure to dust the blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter.

This is an authentic blueberry cake recipe from the blueberry capital of the world: Maine.

The difference between this and most other blueberry cakes, is that it is light and airy. It doesn’t contain the denseness one would expect from a cake, and that’s its charm. Sprinkled sugar baked on top creates a thin, delicate crispy crust.

The recipe comes from Kim MacIsaac of Peaks Island, just a 15-minute ferry ride from Portland. Kim is a historian and has written several books on the history of that small island. She also owns the Peaks Island Tour Company

A couple dances on their wedding day. — Sean and Emmy’s first dance as a married couple.

I first ate a piece of this cake at a wedding rehearsal dinner for my son Sean, and his wife, Emmy. Kim’s daughter, Courtney, catered the dinner via her company The Maine Lobsterbake Company. When I ordered this cake for dessert, she told me it was her mother’s recipe.

A few weeks later, I stumbled across the recipe in the Peaks Island Directory. And about a week after that, I made it in the Rootsliving kitchen.

The recipe is pretty easy. It just requires a few bowls: one to whip up the egg whites and another to cream the shortening.

Blueberry cake batter. — This rubber spatula works great at cleaning the bowl of batter.

You also have to do a lot of folding. You fold in the egg whites and then you fold in the blueberries, which have been dusted with a light coating of flour.

Don’t stir the batter too much. You want to keep the consistency of the batter, light and airy.

Kim MacIsaac's Maine Blueberry Cake

June 20, 2022

Difficulty: Easy

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By: Mark Micheli

Ingredients

Large eggs (2, separated)
Sugar (1 cup, divided)
Salt (1/4 tsp)
Shortening (1/2 cup)
Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
Flour (1 1/2 cup)
Baking Powder (1 tsp)
Whole Milk (1/3 cup)
Fresh blueberries (1 1/2 cup)

Directions

Step 1 Beat Egg whites until stiff. Add 1/4 cup of sugar.
Step 2 Cream shortening. Add salt and vanilla. Add rest of sugar (3/4 cup) and egg yolks. Beat until creamy.
Step 3 Add dry ingredients, alternately with milk.
Step 4 Fold in egg whites.
Step 5 Shake berries in a little bit of flour and fold into mixture.
Step 6 Place batter in greased 8×8 pan. Sprinkle with sugar.
Step 7 Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.