Both of my parents grew up going to the Jersey shore every year, but my father’s family spent the majority of their summers in a cottage by Quaker Lake. The small, man-made lake is a 20 minute drive from Binghamton, just over the Pennsylvania border, and it served as the perfect getaway for my grandparents and extended family on my grandmother’s side.
Along with clear water and scenic views, Quaker Lake also had a plentiful blueberry patch nearby. I can only assume a pail of blueberries made it from the patch to the cottage uneaten one day and someone decided to put them to use in the form of a cake. It could have been my grandmother or one of her sister-in-laws, but I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if the recipe was an original creation or was found in a cookbook, but I present the ingredients here as they appeared on the index card in my grandmother’s recipe box (by way of another index card in my mother’s stack of recipes).
What I do know for sure is that this is a great summer cake. You can serve it as a dessert (with my grandmother’s hard sauce on the side…if you dare), or enjoy its muffin-like qualities and have it for breakfast. It’s quick and easy to make as well, but I imagine it had to be with my father and his nine cousins running around outside.
Quaker Lake Blueberry Cake
-1 cup sugar
-Butter the size of an egg (Note: This is an old measurement but is approximately 1/4 cup of butter. I just placed the egg next to the stick of butter and cut a few centimeters longer than the egg.)
-1 egg
-1/2 cup milk
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 tsp. baking powder
-2 cups blueberries
1) Preheat oven to 350°.
2) Cream together butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add the egg and then slowly add the milk, mixing until fully incorporated.
3) Add the flour and baking powder in three parts, mixing fully between each. Once the batter is formed, use a large wooden spoon to gently fold in the blueberries.
4) Pour into a greased 9×9 pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Hard Sauce
(Note: This is completely optional. Hard sauce is meant to be served on the side and is essentially a sugary butter spread with a hint of liquor.)
-1 cup butter
-1 cup confectioners sugar
-Splash of sherry wine
1) Cream together butter and sugar. Add a splash of sherry wine and mix.
2) Chill covered in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and then serve.
Hi Mo,
Sara tipped me off to this entry in your blog. I love it, as, with you, we are the next generation. When I married, my Mom (Helen A.) made me a cookbook and included this recipe. It even had the same butter measurement in the amount of an egg. (Although the card I have calls for 1/2 cup of milk). As I understand it, this was given to the family by Mrs. Gaffney from Binghamton. And there is no Blueberry cake without the hard sauce! You have inspired me to bring out my recipe card make this family tradition once again. Thanks!
Thanks Amy! When my mother sent me the recipe via e-mail, she forgot to include the milk and guessed at the measurement over the phone, so I bet it was a 1/2 cup on her card as well. I’m going to update the recipe now to reflect the proper measurement. I knew the cake seemed a little more moist than usual when I made it…
Absolutely love this, Mo! I forwarded it to my Mom, who enjoyed many a summer on Quaker Lake. I have to say, it’s just not complete without the hard sauce. In fact, hold the cake, I’ll have just the hard sauce!
Love your blog. The new design is stellar too. Terrific logo, beautiful, elegant, clean design.
Thanks Sara! It was my first time making it and now that I have the recipe, I think it’s going to be a bit dangerous. The ingredients are almost always in my kitchen and it’s so good!
I can only take a small bit of credit for blog design (it’s a modified WordPress template), but I did create the new logo.
Hey Mo!
We have a family vacation gathering planned for next week and since we grow our own blueberries,(they are ripe now in the Carolinas)I decided to make Mrs. Gaffney’s Quaker Lake Blueberry Pudding Cake. Hard sauce too of course! My recipe card, which I copied from my mother(Rita)over 40 years ago, was so faded that I couldn’t read the cooking time any more! I knew I had saved your blog — my girls sent it to me — and I referred back to your instructions! Thank you for giving me such a huge smile full of memories of Quaker Lake and all the family times together. Helen