Blueberry Ricotta Cake

I have several bags of frozen Maine blueberries from my back field that I need to use up so I decided to make a blueberry treat for the office this morning. I found this recipe for a Blueberry Ricotta Cake on the King Arthur Flour web site . If you haven't been to the King Arthur Company Store in Vermont, you must go! It's a baker's dream store! Their catalog is terrific too. This dense cake makes a nice morning/brunch treat. The ricotta layer adds almost a thin cheesecake-like layer to the cake. I modified the recipe a bit by switching to half whole wheat flour and adding lemon zest to the ricotta. I think you could also make this with raspberries, cherries, or other fruit.

Blueberry Ricotta Cake

Batter:
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1.25 tsp baking powder
2/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 to 1.5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:
2 large eggs
1.25 cups ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Combine dry batter ingredients. Add milk, shortening, egg, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
2. Grease a 9 by 9 by 2 inch pan or similar size. Spread batter evenly over the pan (batter will be thick).
3. Evenly sprinkle blueberries on top of batter.
4. In small bowl, beat eggs until frothy, then beat in cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread this topping mixture over the blueberries.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until light brown around the edges.
6. Cool then cut into squares.