~ Welcome to Once Upon a Plate ~

I hope you'll join me in my culinary adventures. I'm not a formally trained chef, just an avid home cook. My taste in food is eclectic and varied, just like my decorating & gardening style.

I find inspiration for recipes from many different sources; blogs, message boards, cookbooks, and magazines.

Most recently a recipe posted on one of my favorite blogs http://www.101cookbooks.com/ captured my interest, an easy-to-make rustic cake.



A simple batter, fruit topping and a sprinkle of coarse sugar and coarse salt is the finishing touch before baking off. It was very good, not too sweet and a recipe I would definitely make again; great for dessert, snacking or even breakfast!

I tweaked Heidi Swanson's recipe a bit, as follows:

Salt-Kissed Buttermilk Cake Recipe

About 12 servings

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar (or brown sugar)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup of berries (or more), I used a mix of 3 berries (frozen), right from the freezer

3 tablespoons large grain raw sugar, I used Turbinado

Scant 1 teaspoon extra large grain salt (see notes below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F)

Grease and flour (or spray with cooking oil + flour product) one 11-inch tart/quiche pan. (This recipe can also be baked in a 9x13-inch rectangular baking dish - begin watching after it has baked for 18 to 20 minutes.)

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sugar and salt.

In a smaller bowl whisk together the eggs and the buttermilk, whisk in the melted butter, and the lemon zest.

Add the buttermilk-egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined - don't over mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spread with a spoon or spatula to the edges. Place the fresh or frozen berries over the top. Sprinkle evenly with the large grain sugar and then the salt.*

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, and cake is golden.

*Salt: If you do not have the extra large grained sea salt just omit it. A good quality, fluffy sea salt can be substituted for the extra-large grain salt, but the amount used should be reduced substantially.