• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Press
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Recipe: Cherokee blueberry honey cake

May 28, 2012 8 Comments Filed Under: Food, Gardens, Recipes, Uncategorized

I always played the Indian in the game of Cowboys and Indians; in movies, I wanted those underdogs to win. I learnt the evocative names of the tribes: Cherokee, Apache, Comanche, Navajo, Cheyenne, are just a few. They represented romance, rebellion, resistance, dignity, tradition, purity of culture. I used to see a Western every week at Saturday Morning Pictures. Do kids still play Cowboys and Indians?

One summer I backpacked around New Mexico, hitching a ride to visit the Acoma pueblo ‘mesa’, a 365 foot flat-topped mountain arising from the dessert. A few Native Indians live there all year round but thousands of tourists visit each year. We looked around the traditional buildings, the people and the craft shops. In one shop a large friendly red-faced American tourist naively asked a tiny shrivelled Native Indian lady how old she was. Her reply was scathing “How dare you ask me how old I am. How dare you come here and insult me like this. You are talking down to me, this is typical of the white man, patronising us”. The hapless tourist gabbled apologies. It was embarrassing and awkward. Her anger punctured our cheerful curiosity about their mesa village. We suddenly became aware that we were interlopers, that they didn’t like us, that we were there on sufferance, so that they could make money to survive.
I’m still fascinated by Native Indian life; I’d love to spend some time in a teepee, naff though that might be nowadays. The architecture of the teepee is particularly feminine; many Native Indian tribes are matrilineal. The teepee field at Glastonbury always inspires me and I often go there during the festival to have some chai, listen to guitar by the fireside as dawn breaks.
For this Secret Garden Club I researched Native Indian food, starting with the planting trio ‘Three sisters’: corn, beans and squash. Foods they ate were mainly corn-based but also included tomatillos (husk tomatoes), berries (Sumac made ‘Indian lemonade’), acorn flour and oil, game and fish, wild potato, Yucca, Squash and zuccini, watermelon, turkeys, maple syrup and pinon nuts.
To find out more about companion planting such as the Three Sisters go here.

Menu:
Corn whisky (Jim Beam with coke)
Cornmeal tacos with marinated salmon, fresh and smoked
Cornbread in a skillet
Tomato and spring onion salsa
Succotash using @zia_mays home-grown borlotti beans
Roast squash with maple syrup and sumac
Cherokee blueberry honey cake
Here is the recipe for the Cherokee Blueberry Honey cake (sounds like the name of a pop stars progeny), it worked very well. The original recipe was with ‘huckleberries’ but those being thin on the ground in North-West London, I replaced them with blueberries. I was told by a guest that huckleberries* aren’t actually very nice! 

120g butter, room temperature
120g caster sugar
200g honey
3 eggs, beaten
125ml whole milk
140g white flour
70g wholewheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
380g. fresh blueberries 



Preheat your oven to 175c or bake in the Aga baking oven, bottom shelf.
Cream the butter, sugar and honey together.
Beat in the eggs and milk.
Once well combined, sift in the white flour, wholewheat flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
Dust the fresh blueberries with a tablespoon of flour then fold them in gently with the batter. I reserved a cupful and sprinkled them on top.
I tipped the mixture into a lined loaf tin and baked for 45 minutes. In a conventional oven it may take an hour. 
Keep an eye to make sure the top isn’t burning, if it is, cover it with foil. 
It’s done when you test with a metal skewer and it comes out clean.
This cake was beautifully moist and not too sweet. 
Dust with icing sugar (I use a tea strainer as a mini sieve).

*Don’t make the mistake I once did in an American cafe and order a ‘dingleberry’ pie. 

The next Secret Garden Club (workshop, supper and bouquet) is on the subject on edible flowers: how to grow them and which ones can you eat. Book here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/157921 £45

Recent posts

Book for my first supper club since the pandemic: Midsummer

May 19, 2022

caponata budget gourmet recipe pic: Kerstin Rodgers

Two delicious budget recipes for the cost of living crisis

May 13, 2022

budget gourmet recipes pic Kerstin Rodgers

Cost of living crisis: three gourmet dinner party recipes that serve 4, for around £2.50

May 6, 2022

Previous Post: « Recipe: picnic: salad in a jar
Next Post: Travel: supper club and tapas from Seville »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chili products

    May 28, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    I love this yummy cake. This is really delicious. It is soft & can be made easily. Thanks for this sharing.

    Reply
  2. Pille

    May 29, 2012 at 5:17 am

    I love the colours of the first photo – almost out-of-this-world!!

    Reply
  3. Mamacook

    May 29, 2012 at 8:33 pm

    Would LOVE to go to Seville. On my list of places to go to very soon.

    Reply
  4. Katy

    June 26, 2012 at 8:00 am

    That looks absolutely delicious. I have bookmarked and will be attempting it soon. Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Pamela Takeshige

    April 25, 2015 at 5:52 am

    Huckleberries are like mini blueberries. And if they are ripe, they are very good. I have picked them on top of a mountain where they grow,… Wild. My brother carried a gun, because the Grizzlies eat them too. And often come to the spot where we were!!

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      May 2, 2015 at 5:01 am

      Hi Pamela
      I've since seen huckleberries when I visited Alaska, Seattle and Portland and they do look very good. It sounds so romantic, grizzlies and wild huckleberries! Thanks for commenting

      Reply
  6. Karunesh Potdar

    April 15, 2020 at 11:55 am

    Hey…
    I tried this recipe in my home as your steps you write in this article and this is so easy to make this recipe. It is amazing to make and very interesting.
    Very useful and helpful for me to make recipes like that very easily in my home.
    Thank You!!!

    Reply
  7. Shawna

    November 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    I grew up, and still love in, huckleberry country. For me: blueberries are the tame, watered down cousin of the huckleberry. Blueberries are less expensive to buy and easier to obtain though.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Me as a punk. #pinkhair @caplanmelissa Me as a punk. #pinkhair @caplanmelissa
Sniffin’ glue: Me n @Jaybladesmbe at the Loctite Sniffin’ glue: Me n @Jaybladesmbe at the Loctite pop up yesterday. I’m all about repairing and upcycling my brocante finds: this time a beautiful pale wood lamp shade stand which had broken off at the bottom. I’m going to rewire it with 2 core sky blue twisted fabric wire, pop on my hand sewn pleated lampshade I learnt to do @workshopminerva and it shall be beautiful. Don’t chuck out your chintz: repair it! #therepairshop #selfie #interiors #popup
in June I’m having my first supper club in two y in June I’m having my first supper club in two years: here is the link to book: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsommar-supper-club £50 18th June  Saturday night. Byo.
#chelseaflower coming up. Last year I bought these succulents and planted them in a vintage zinc garden sieve. Now they are flowering. My balcony is like a little greenhouse: I can grow aubergines & other plants that usually need to be under glass. #londongarden #may #plants #succulents in the garden
Lemon drizzle cake. The trick is not to stint on t Lemon drizzle cake. The trick is not to stint on the citrus. I used 7: 2 Italian lemons (from Lidl):some ordinary lemons and some limes (18p) at Lidl. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your citrus. I also used buttermilk from @fenfarmdairy in Suffolk from their honesty shop. Last night we ate it still warm from the oven. #cake #lemondrizzle #homebaking #citrus #buttermilk
A Simple tomato, goats cheese and basil salad, spa A Simple tomato, goats cheese and basil salad, spanking fresh asparagus / fried in olive oil, season, then add a little boiling water, not too much, put on the lid, dressed with lemon zest & Parmesan, @fenfarmdairy baron bigod cheese, good bread. This is how I like to eat. Claire’s plates found at the beccles brocante. #suffolk #suffolkfood #supper #dinnerwithfriends  #vintageplates
Can’t wait to see what they will be like when th Can’t wait to see what they will be like when they are fired. All my favourite themes: gingham and scallops. Thanks to @clairebelljar for a wonderful weekend and pottery workshop. Such fun! #workingwithyourhands #playtime #creativity #ceramics #pottery #suffolk
Making plates with talented potter & old South Ham Making plates with talented potter & old South Hampstead girl @clairebelljar in Suffolk. She has the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. Such a joy to be reunited with her. #friendsreunited #makers #potters #scalloped #wildflowers #cowparsley #pottery
Another budget gourmet recipe, the Sicilian capona Another budget gourmet recipe, the Sicilian caponata, which is like a more interesting ratatouille, in which you add capers, olives & vinegar. £2.50p. I was asked to develop a series of recipes which were delicious enough to serve at a dinner party but also cheap. I shopped at Lidl. #costoflivingcrisis #budgetgourmet #recipe #vegetarian #vegan #lidluk
Mackerel pâté, a recipe that cost under £2.50. Mackerel pâté, a recipe that cost under £2.50. Lemon & herb smoked mackerel fillets from @lidl (take off skin)3 big scoops creme fraiche from Lidl and juice of half a lemon. Blend. Plenty of black pepper. Serve with bread. #budgetgourmet #costoflivingcrisis #eatorheat
Just wrote a very personal piece for @hamandhigh o Just wrote a very personal piece for @hamandhigh on my decade as a single parent on benefits, how I learned to cook & how things are so much harder now because not only are ingredients pricier but the cost of cooking them is too. 3 budget gourmet meals serving 4, for £2.50 each. #costoflivingcrisis #budgetgourmet #povertyshame #singleparents #foodblogger
Easter Sunday. Daffodil skeletons. Easter Sunday. Daffodil skeletons.
Just made @davidlebovitz recipe for blood orange u Just made @davidlebovitz recipe for blood orange upside down cake as I had some to use up. It tastes very marmeladey. Probably used too deep a pan. #sundaybaking #recipe #thelastofthebloodoranges #april #easter
Today learning how to build a dry stone wall in t Today  learning how to build a dry stone wall in the cotswolds which is famous for the picturesque walls & hedgerows. My teacher, Richard Gray, told us about the different stones: face, foundation, pin & coping. It is a mortal ( mortar?) sun to use cement on a dry stone wall- it means the stones can’t breathe. These walls last 100 years- they cost £300 a metre. A pro can build 3 metres a day. Richard once did a quote for kylie Minogue. His firm is Hillrise stonework. This course is run by @notgroveholidays There is a world championship for drystone walling. #craft #building #drystonewall #cotswolds #staycation
Ukrainian inspiration: cabbage rolls stuffed with Ukrainian inspiration: cabbage rolls stuffed with rice, mushrooms, garlic, dill. Baked with sauerkraut & mushroom stock for 1.5 hours. Delicious comfort food. #cookforukraine #vegetarian #cabbagerolls #sauerkraut #easterneuropeanfood
Getting there. Making a pleated lampshade for @sie Getting there. Making a pleated lampshade for @siennamarla’s living room. Fabric from @clothshoplondon training by @workshopminerva frame #making #craft #sewing #lampshade #interiors
Stuffed peppers with roasted buckwheat, feta, dill Stuffed peppers with roasted buckwheat, feta, dill and a sour cream, tomato & smoked paprika sauce. Kasha or buckwheat can be bought at polish shops. It’s a grain but full of protein. I did a recipe with it in v is for vegan - a stuffed cabbage. You can buy plain or roasted. #cookforukraine #buckwheat #kasha #stuffedpeppers #vegetarian #visforvegan
Ukrainian quick cucumber pickles dipped in honey. Ukrainian quick cucumber pickles dipped in honey. Strangely addictive. Recipe from next weeks column in the ham and high. #cookforukraine #supperclub #slavaukraini #pickles #dronedowner #ukraine #recipe
An etched glass window in my bathroom to replace t An etched glass window in my bathroom to replace the very fashionable fluted glass I had. Thing is this glass works better in a flat dated 1906. Glass by @baronglass  #interiors #etchedglass #bathroom #trellis #londonflat
Making Ukrainian Easter bread, with sour cherries Making Ukrainian Easter bread, with sour cherries and saffron, adapted from a recipe in Mamushka by Ukrainian chef @oliahercules #slavaukraini #easter #baking #sour #sourcherries #supperclub
Making some Ukrainian inspired recipes for my next Making some Ukrainian inspired recipes for my next column. Quick pickled mini cucumbers & a herring, Granny Smith & egg salad from Black Sea by @edentravels on the way is the Ukrainian Easter bread by @oliahercules and in the oven are roasted kasha (buckwheat)stuffed peppers with a sour cream, paprika & tomato sauce by me. I’ve only been to Kyiv as a stopover on the way to Georgia but I’ve done various Eastern European influenced supper clubs in the past. Maybe I should do a Ukrainian one as a fundraiser? #slavaukraini #supperclub #sunflowerseeds&hope #stopthewar #blue&yellow
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2022 msmarmitelover