Blueberry bliss: Elevate your dessert game this season

We often wait all year for baked goods with seasonal fruits. My favourite ones are those with berries. However, before they appear on the bushes, I use blueberries. Cakes with these fruits can also delight with their taste, and you don't need great pastry skills to prepare them without a hitch. This recipe is a perfect example.

A delicious cake for a weekend coffee? You can always opt for a classic fruit cake, but I assure you that a slightly more complicated one will also not cause trouble. And the taste? In my opinion, it's richer, with blueberries immersed in yoghurt elevating it to great heights. But let's proceed step by step. I suggest a cake with a shortcrust base, a yoghurt layer, and fruits.

The base of this dessert is shortcrust pastry. It's crucial to use cold, highest quality butter. It needs to be kneaded quickly to prevent it from warming up. This ensures that after baking, it will be perfectly crisp and delicate.

Ingredients:

For the shortcrust base:

• 250g of flour,
• 100g of butter,
• 4 egg yolks,
• 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar,
• 1 tablespoon of cream,
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

For the yoghurt layer:

• 600g of natural yoghurt,
• 2 packets of sugar-free vanilla pudding mix,
• 100g of sugar (to taste),
• 2 egg whites.

Additionally:

• 300g of blueberries,
• 1 flat tablespoon of potato starch.

Preparation method:

1. Start with the shortcrust pastry for the base. Quickly knead a dough from the flour, butter, sugar, egg yolks, baking powder, and cream.
2. Shape the dough into a ball and chill it in the fridge for at least half an hour.
3. Roll out the dough into a rectangle the size of the baking tray, which should be lined with baking paper.
4. Transfer the rolled out dough to the tray, prick it with a fork, and bake in the oven preheated to 180°C for about 20 minutes. The dough should be golden. Then take it out and let it cool.
5. Prepare the yoghurt mixture. Briefly mix the natural yoghurt with the sugar and pudding mixes until just combined.
6. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whip until stiff. Add the whipped whites to the yoghurt mixture and gently fold together with a spatula. Spread the mixture over the crust.
7. Mix the blueberries with the potato starch and place them on the yoghurt layer.
8. Bake the cake in the oven preheated to 160°C for about 60 minutes. Serve after cooling.

Blueberries are perfect for cakes. They are not too juicy, so they don't fall apart and retain their consistency and flavour in nearly any dessert. They also have a lot of nutritional value. They contain vitamins A, C, E, and the B group, as well as minerals such as magnesium, copper, selenium, iron, and calcium.

Thanks to the presence of anthocyanins, blueberries have antioxidant properties, making them an important element in cancer prevention. The polyphenols they contain lower blood pressure, strengthen blood vessels, and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. Anthocyanins improve concentration and memory, protecting brain cells from ageing.