Since they’ve been a great
value at the grocery stores the last couple of weeks, it’s been just the right
time for me to be including blueberries in recipes that I’ve been developing
and testing for my All About Food newspaper column.

My son and daughter-in-law,
who live in Fort Worth, Texas, were here for a few days and they
were eager to be my tasters. Blueberry Cream Cheese Cake didn’t make the food
column, but for everyone who likes cream cheese, this cake will meet their
approval. It doesn’t take long to mix up. You may have all the ingredients in
your kitchen right now. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is cutting
the cream cheese into tiny little chunks. It’s easiest to cut the cream cheese
when it’s cold. If your knife gets sticky, just run it under some warm water. A
lemon-sugar topping is just right on this moist cake.

If you’re having weekend
guests, you may want to have this cake on hand. I must say, it gets better with
age. So, make it today and enjoy it all weekend long. It’s good with a cup of
morning coffee or a glass of iced tea in the middle of the afternoon.

Oh, and by the way, I dug
this recipe out of a file of newspaper clippings I’ve been collecting for years. It was
probably from the St. Paul
newspaper which is what I was reading in the 1960’s. I had written 1964 on the
bottom of the clipping. I’m pretty sure my dad was my taster at that time. Or,
maybe my best friend who lived across the street from me would have wanted to
taste it. She loved cream cheese. Her favorite snack was Frito corn chips which
she would swipe through a brick of cream cheese before each bite. Oh, yes, I
think she would love this cake..

Blueberry Cream Cheese Cake

• ½ cup butter
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream
  cheese, cut into little cubes
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon
  zest
• 2 tablespoons butter,
  softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat ½ cup butter at medium
speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1¼ cups sugar, beating
well. Add eggs one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

Combine 2 cups flour, baking
powder and salt. Stir well. Combine milk and water. Stir well. Add flour
mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending
with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition until mixture is
blended. Gently stir in blueberries and little cream cheese cubes. Pour batter
into a greased 9-inch square pan

Combine ½ cup flour and
remaining 3 ingredients. Stir well with a fork. Sprinkle mixture over batter in
pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake tests done. Serve
warm or let cool completely on a wire rack. Makes 12 to 16 servings.