Keller Family Blog

This month, I’m honoring two birthdays in the Keller family – Ingrid Roberts and Jim Keller – and I couldn’t think of a better way to do so than to include recipes for two of their favorite things – Lemon Blueberry Cake and a Moscow Mule!

From the time Jim and Jenness began spending their summers at their vacation home in Maine, Jim’s birthday was celebrated there. Maine is famous for its blueberries, so it was not a surprise to hear that, for at least one of Jim’s birthdays, Jenness, with the help of a visiting Josie Keller, made a Lemon Blueberry Cake for him. When I started checking out recipes, I was blown away by all the different versions of this cake, each one sounding more heavenly than the last! You can go very fancy and make a several-layer cake from scratch, which can include mascarpone, sour cream, or fresh yogurt, lemon zest inside and out, frozen or fresh berries, and top it all with either a buttercream or cream cheese frosting; or you can create a pretty one-layer or pound cake version, or even go the pour-everything-into-a-pan-and-bake route. After trying to narrow down the choices, I finally decided to go with the cake I would want to make. The Bundt cake below fit the bill for me! The part that takes the longest is the actual baking and cooling. Most of you know that when you are planning to apply a glaze afterward, you need the cake to be cooled down completely. We don’t have a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Cake in the family cookbook, so I’m including the recipe I selected. If we ever put together a second volume of our family cookbook, I think a version of this cake should definitely be in it! I can’t wait to try this one!

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Glaze

Prep Time: 15 minutes 

Cook Time: 1 hour 50 minutes 

Servings: 12

Equipment

• 1 Bundt Pan 

Ingredients  

• 1 package lemon cake mix 
• 3 ounces instant lemon pudding mix 
• large pinch of salt
• ⅔ cup water
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• zest of 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• 4 eggs
• 6 ounces of blueberries, fresh or frozen 

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons water or lemon juice

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Make sure to get in all the crevices. Sprinkle flour throughout the inside of your Bundt pan, then tap out the excess.
• In a large bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries.
• Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool 10 to 15 minutes in the pan. Use a knife and slide down to release any stuck sides. Invert onto a cooling rack set over a baking sheet and cool completely.
• To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, water or lemon juice, and vanilla. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let it firm up for at least 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon slices, blueberries, and/or thyme if desired.

The second part of our birthday celebration belongs to the fabulous and super refreshing Moscow Mule!

My introduction to the Moscow Mule was at Jim and Jenness’ house. I was visiting them one warm summer evening shortly after they had moved into their new home. Larry wasn’t with me. I don’t recall why anymore. It was also the first time I had driven to their place by myself. No GPS – I was still pretty old-school at that time – but thankfully, I had some good directions from Jenness. When I entered the house, Jim steered me over to the kitchen, raised a chilled copper mug with his hand, and asked, “Would you like a Moscow Mule?” I’d never had one before, but the mug was gorgeous, and he looked eager to share, so, of course, I said “yes”! He had 4 beautiful copper mugs set out on the kitchen counter. Jenness, it turned out, didn’t care for Moscow Mules, so it was just Jim and me. First, he muddled some large mint leaves into the bottom of two chilled copper mugs. Then he poured in the ginger beer, vodka, squeezed some lime juice into the mix, and stirred this lovely concoction together while I stood there and watched. I think there was an ice cube or two in there, as well, but I’m not sure anymore. I’m pretty much a sucker for all of those flavors separately, so tasting them together that summer evening was heaven! I was thankful he didn’t offer me another, because one on an empty stomach was just about right. I have had many Moscow Mules since that first evening and have learned that there are quite a few variations. Some recipes don’t use mint at all. If you’d like to give it a try, you can find Ciana’s delicious Moscow Mule recipe in the family cookbook on page 89. After Jim passed away, Ingrid and I made a point of ordering a Moscow Mule in his honor when we got together. It has become a lovely tradition and keeps him and that special evening fresh in my mind. Happy Birthday, Ingrid and Jim!