Blueberry Boy Bait is a recipe for a delicious cake baked with blueberries with a hint of cinnamon. The title is old-fashioned and maybe even inappropriate – but it really is boy bait!

Whenever we are at the cottage, we hope we are lucky to have guests. I like to have desserts on hand that seem to take a bit of effort – but really don’t. The other day I posted the Butter Tart Squares recipe. It’s one of those recipes that used simple ingredients that I typically have on hand – and is fairly quick to assemble.

Today’s recipe is Blueberry Boy Bait. I know, I know – the title just seems politically incorrect. BUT – it can’t be politically incorrect if it’s true. The cinnamon and blueberries in this cake really do attract my boys!

This recipe just makes me think of summer cottage – lake life. Once again, the ingredients are simple things that I have on hand. I clipped this recipe from a magazine years ago, but have never made this dessert the same way twice! It never lasts for more than a day either.

This recipe was an entry to the 1954 5th Pillsbury Grand National Contest – the predecessor to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. A teenaged girl named Renny Powell of Chicago won 2nd place in the Junior division of the contest – held at the New York Waldorf Astoria. She won $2000 and she got her recipe published!

She named the recipe for its ability to attract boys – and it really does. I bet she didn’t know cinamon is supposed to be an aphrodisiac – maybe she did. (A 1995 study by Dr. Alan Hirsch suggested that men are attracted by the smell of cinnamon buns – but – we didn’t need a study to prove that did we?)

The recipe has seen numerous adaptations and variations over the years, but here’s a version that’s close to the original. Some variations of the recipe use lard or oil for the fat, some separate the eggs – but this version is what I do.

It’s basically a white cake with ingredients reserved to make a little crumble topping – with blueberries dropped along the top – and cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the whole thing. It you want to simplify things even further – you could prepare any white or yellow cake mix as per directions – and then sprinkle with blueberries and cinnamon sugar. Nobody will ever know……

I am using freshly picked blueberries from our “garden” – but frozen is fine (I often use them) – AND it’s absolutely OK to add more blueberries if you like!

Don’t worry there’s a printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Blueberry Boy Bait Recipe

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup milk
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 13×9-inch baking pan or dish.
2. Make the Cake Batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine all the cake ingredients except the blueberries. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are moistened, then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 2 minutes. Gently fold in the 1/2 cup of blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Prepare the Topping: In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. In another bowl, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the sugar-cinnamon mix. Sprinkle this crumbly mixture evenly over the cake batter. Scatter the 1/2 cup of blueberries on top.
4. Bake: Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The top should be golden brown and the edges slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan.
5. Cool and Serve: Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, you can cut it into squares and serve. It pairs well with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Below is a printable recipe card from RecipesGenerator. Please give it a try!

Here’s to blueberries and cinnamon – and keeping summer baking nice and easy!

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