Oof, what a day. What a week really. And it only Tuesday. Let’s do something fun and talk about cake. Actually, let’s talk about Boy Bait.

I was having one of those Sundays, where I just wanted to bake something. I didn’t really care what. I just wanted it to be simple and sweet and, if possible, require no fuss at all and no trip to the grocery store. As I’m getting a weeeeee bit sick of winter, I was feeling fruit and berries; I wanted to conjure up summer. Or at least a little piece of summer. I wanted to lick the batter. That’s all I wanted.

So I checked my recipe file (yes, I have a recipe file; if I kept all those magazines I’d be buried alive), I reviewed my Epicurious recipe box, I read through my go-to cookbooks and I surfed my favorite blogs. And of course, I found what I was looking for on Smitten Kitchen. Summery, simple, made of pantry staples, and possessing a really cute-ass name!

This is what I consider a snack cake. It’s a simple sheet cake, with no frills, made for slicing off slivers at a time, each time you pass the kitchen, just as a snack. I imagine myself making this, or cakes just like it, one summer day when I have a busy family spinning through the house and craving something sweet. Or, you know, any Saturday when I just want to lick the beater. That would work too. Luckily, frozen blueberries easily turn this into an any-Saturday cake.

So what of the name? Is it boy bait incarnate? Was I mobbed by hungry, blueberry-loving, attractive, eligible bachelors? Ok, not exactly. But I was confronted with a soft, über-buttery, muffin-like, bluberry-studded, slightly-sweet snack cake. And honestly, if I had to choose between it and a boy, well, I’d choose the boy, but I would at least pause to think about it.

Blueberry Boy Bait

From Smitten Kitchen. Serves 16.

The real story behind the too-adorable name can be found over on on Smitten Kitchen, so go check it out! I think that this would be a-maze-ing with some lemon zest. I tossed my berries with the flour as noted below and they still sunk. There may be no hope for them.

2 c plus 1 t all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t table salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs
1 c whole milk (I used 2%)
1 c blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw), divided
1/2 t cinnamon

• Heat oven to 350°F and grease a 9″x13″ pan
• In a small bowl, mix the 2 c. flour, baking powder and salt
• In a larger bowl, using an electric mixer beat the butter, brown sugar and 1/2 c. granulated sugar until fluffy
• Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time
• With the mixer on medium, add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated; add half the milk, then half the remaining flour, followed by the rest of the milk and then the final bit of flour, mixing until combined after each addition
• Toss 1/2 c. blueberries with the teaspoon of flour and stir into batter  with a spatula
• Spread batter in the prepared pan
• Combine 1/4 c. granulated sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the cake
• Distribute the remaining 1/2 c. blueberries over the top of the cake
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until tester comes out clean