Brown Butter Berry Cake Posted on March 18, 2014 (February 1, 2021) by Lynna Taking a break from all that peanut butter recipes, I bringing you a mixed berry cake today. I can`t believe it`s almost Spring! California has been full of sunshine (hence, our terrible drought) so I`ve been thinking of berries! If you`re an avid recipe collector/reader, I`m sure you have heard of the famous blueberry boy bait cake. It was a Pillsbury 2nd place winning recipe back in 1954 (junior division)!! Apparently, this family recipe had an effect on teenage boys! Which, could make sense. I mean, a way into a man`s heart is through his stomach, right? I knew I had to try this cake. I mean, if it`s good enough to bait boys…totally kidding. I`ve seen it crop up on multiple occasions for years. Since the serving size is too large for my family, I never made it until I found the perfect opportunity when I was invited to a potluck! I tweaked the recipe, but it`s still a wonderful cake. I love the berries in the cake, especially with a hint of ground cinnamon. I enjoyed the cake with some sliced strawberries and a cup of milk (because I eat every dessert with milk!). You can definitely just use only blueberries, but I wanted a mix of blueberries and raspberries in the cake batter. Then, I topped each slice with some strawberries. I would avoid the bigger berries, like strawberries and blackberries in the actual cake batter though, since they might produce a soggier cake. So, enjoy this lovely, moist, and crumbly cake in Winter, because we just can`t wait for Spring in a few days. 🙂 Brown Butter Berry Cake (Boy Bait) Adapted: America’s Test Kitchen Best Summer Desserts| Yields: 1 9x13in pan (12 servings)| Level: Easy | Total Time:  80 minutes | Print Ingredients: Cake: –         2 cups all purpose flour –         1 tablespoons baking powder –         ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon –         1 teaspoon salt –         1 cup unsalted butter –         ¾ cup brown sugar, packed –         ½ cup granulated sugar –         3 large eggs –         1 cup whole milk –         ½ cup frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, etc) –         1 tablespoon all purpose flour (Optional) Topping: –         ½ cup all purpose flour –         ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed –         2 tablespoons granulated sugar –         ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon –         pinch salt –         3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold & cubed –         ½ cup frozen mixed berries Directions: Cake: 1.      Preheat oven to 350°F. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rectangular 9×13 inch nonstick baking pan with parchment paper, or grease well. 2.      In a small saucepan, brown your butter: Over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisking occasionally, let the butter turn into an amber color. It will foam a little. Once it subsides and brown specks appears at the bottom of the pan, it will begin to have a nutty aroma. Once butter turns a light golden brown color, transfer to a bowl to cool. (I stick it in the freezer to make it cool faster–about 5-10 minutes.) 3.      In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. 4.      In a bowl with electric mixer, combine brown butter, brown sugar, and sugar well. 5.      Mix in the eggs, one at a time and beating after each addition, until just combined. 6.      Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix. Then, beat in half of the milk. Repeat with flour, milk, and flour, beating in between each addition. 7.      (Optional: In a small bowl, toss frozen berries with the flour) 8.      Fold berries into the mixture. 9.      Pour mixture into prepared pan. Topping: 10.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. 11.  Using a pastry cutter, or two forks, cut in the butter. 12.  Sprinkle frozen berries randomly throughout cake. 13.  Sprinkle topping evenly on top of batter. 14.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. 15.  Allow cake to cool in pan for 20 minutes before cutting into squares for serving. *Notes: –         Tossing the berries in a little bit of flour will prevent them from sinking to the bottom. –         I didn’t thaw my berries, I don’t think it’s necessary when baking with them.