Eggless Blackberry Boy Bait

I love alliteration, don't you?

I know. I know...egg-less doesn't fit in with the beautiful bounty of b's.  But it is the reason I first came upon the recipe.  You see, I had an itty-bitty box of breathtaking blackberries and nary a use for them.  They had been glowing, at their peak of ripeness.  I couldn't let these beauties go to waste.

Only, I didn't have any eggs.  Nada.  Zilch.  Ross made frequent offers to run to the store at 9 pm to gather what I lacked, but I vehemently refused.  We had planned our grocery shopping for the next day and I refused to let him make the extra trip for one ingredient.  I was determined to find an egg-less dessert. 

And I had wonderful success courtesy of the husband and wife team at Chef In You.

So what is a boy bait?  From what I've gathered among various sources, a 15 year-old girl submitted a butter-loaded blueberry cake a Pillsbury bake-off in 1954.  She dubbed it boy bait for its ability to lure in the opposite sex.  I'd go so far as to say this cake could lure in almost anyone.  It won second place.  To what?  I'm not sure.  Pillsbury's website is sadly lacking any reference to boy bait..

The treat is reminiscent of blueberry muffins--indeed it is traditional made with blueberries--but baked up in a single layer, allowed to cool and cut into squares.  This version earns its egglessness thanks to the addition of yogurt.  But all of the buttery goodness remains...

adapted from recipes at the Chef In You and Smitten Kitchen

serves 12+

The Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 tsp
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup cinnamon-sugar

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and dust with flour.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars, beating until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Beat in 1/2 cup of the yogurt, 1/4 cup of the milk and the vanilla.  Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Add the remaining yogurt and mix well.  Fold in another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk.  Add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.

Toss 1/2 cup of the blackberries with 1Tbsp of flour. Gently fold the berries into the batter.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Distribute the remaining berries over the batter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for at least twenty minutes.  Remove the cake from the pan to a serving tray and allow to cool completely (if you can!)  The cake will be far easier to slice once cool. 

The Review:
My first attempt at this recipe was incredibly tasty.  But I did a very stupid thing.  Instead of using the 9x13 pan recommended, I reached for my 9-inch cake pan.  The batter filled the pan almost to the brim.  I feared an overflow and placed a cookie sheet on the rack below, lest the cake ooze all over the bottom of my oven.  I had to add nearly 15 minutes to the bake time.  The toothpick came out clean. 

The toothpick test deceived me.

The center of the cake quickly collapsed into a pile of nearly raw batter.  You can barely tell from the photos.  We still enjoyed it.  Well...most of it...

Attempt no. 2 was a much bigger success. My husband insists this treat is laced with crack...