Getting Ready for Blueberry Season!

Last summer I got some of the best blueberries at the Brick (NJ) farmers’ market & I am looking forward to it again this year. In case you are not aware, New Jersey is one of the leading producers of blueberries in the US (NJ is not known as the “Garden State” for nothing!) and blueberries are the official state fruit. The season begins in late June and runs into July, sometimes even August depending on the weather.

So in anticipation of the coming season, earlier this week I baked a Sour Cream Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread. I had a large container of Costco blueberries (from Canada, eh) and would never eat all of them before they went bad so I dug through my many, many recipes and found this one. It’s from an old Williams-Sonoma baking book (it’s so old I may have bought it when I was a W-S store manager back in the 90s!). As the name implies, it’s definitely more bread-y than cake-y, and not very sweet (only contains 3/4 C sugar), but perfect as a breakfast item, smeared with a bit of good salted butter or cream cheese. The bananas and sour cream give this bread its moist texture. If you’re going to use it as more of a dessert, I would sprinkle some confectioners’ sugar on top to give it a bit more sweetness.

Keep this recipe on hand when blueberry season comes to your area, or pick up a box now and practice! June is only two months away!

Sour Cream Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread (The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book)

Makes one 9x5” loaf

Ingredients:

2 medium-ripe bananas

2 C AP (plain) flour

3/4 C sugar

1-1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 C chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

2 large eggs

1/2 C sour cream

1 t pure vanilla extract

1/2 C unsalted butter, melted

1 heaping C fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9x5” loaf pan with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray.

Mash the bananas well with a fork or coarsely puree them in a food processor. Measure out 1 cup and set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, butter, and the 1 cup mashed banana pulp. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the banana mixture, and stir until just combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Gently fold in the blueberries, taking care not to break them up or mash them. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the bread until the top is firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Unmold the loaf onto the rack and let cool completely. Cut into thick slices to serve.