Blueberry Boy Bait
More than just a tasty blueberry cake, it’s rumored that this recipe for Blueberry Boy Bait can help a woman snag the man of her choosing.
By Yankee Magazine|Jun 03 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanIn 1954 a 15-year-old Chicago teen named Renny Powell submitted a blueberry coffee cake recipe to the Pillsbury $100,000 Recipe & Baking Contest (precursor to today’s Pillsbury Bake-Off). Renny took second place in the youth division for her creation, named in honor of its powers with the opposite sex. The Blueberry Boy Bait recipe has been in circulation ever since, including here on NewEngland.com, where our adaptation is one of the most popular recipes in our archive.
Note: If using large frozen blueberries 2 cups works best. If using small (wild) fresh or frozen blueberries, use up to 3 cups.
Yield:
18 squaresIngredients
Butter for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil, milk, and eggs. Mix with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then evenly sprinkle the blueberries on top.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, then sprinkle over the blueberries.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
It was a little sweet so I think that you should go with the “you may use less sugar” thing. Other than that, the recope is great. It even has a cute little story to go with it.
I followed the suggestion and used the lower amount of sugar, plus 3 cups of freshly picked blueberries. The people at work loved it! So did my husband; he was a little put out that I gave most of it to my co-workers!
Very easy and great for breakfast or dessert.
I used the lower amount of sugar and it was delicious!
Many years ago when I took this recipe out of Yankee Magazine, it called to separate the eggs. Mixing everything as you have it and then adding the beaten eggs at the end, it does make a difference in the
taste, which I like better.
Lowered the amount of sugar to 3/4 C for cake, and 3TBSP for topping.
My whole family loved it. I made it as it was…no substitutions. We will definitely make it again!
My 7-year-old daughter loves blueberries and would have eaten the whole thing had I let her. It was very good. I made it according to the recipe. Next time, I may decrease the sugar in the topping. (Depends on how this New Year’s Resolution holds…)
I tried this recipe for the first time and thought it turned out very well. It is a very good and sweet “breakfast bread/cake.”
I’ve made this recipe for years. Took it from one of the first Yankee Magazine’s I received. It has always been a favorite. But the first recipe calls to beat the egg white separately and it really makes the cake better. Just does something special for the cake.
Absolutely wonderful! Made it with less sugar and it was just fine. So moist, everyone in the family loved it.
Oh my! Blueberry Boy Bait……The first cookbook I ever bought was the 1959 Issue of the Pillsbury Bake Off Best 1000 Recipes. Blueberry Boy Bait was the first recipe I made from that book and I made it many times over the years.
But must admit that cookbook got pushed to the back of my shelf but your article this morning sent me looking for it. I found it and was able to find the original recipe. I like your changes to the recipe; less sugar and less fuss.
Now I think I’ll make it for the grandkids.
Thanks for that blast from the past.
I am always looking for an interesting receipe so when I saw this one I printed it and put it in my recipe binder! I made it last Sunday for church and it was a big hit! I added some frozen cranberries and a little chopped walnuts on top and it tasted great! Not too sweet and it makes a good size cake!
i ‘ve always liked to get recipe’s- they use to come in larger print ,now are to small for me to read??
Dorothy
Hi Dorothy,
Please contact our web department at http://www.yankeemagazine.com/feedback — they should be able to help you with the font size issue.
I still have my original Best Of The Bake Off Collection recipe book printed in1959. The Blueberry Boy Bait recipe was well used when I was a teenager how many years ago. I’ll have to dust it of and try it on my grandchildren.
Yummy yummy yummy. I made the cake this morning and it was delicious. I added one very ripe banana and cut back just a little on the amount of oil.
Very moist and delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Toby Ann
First, I made the Yankee version of Blueberry Boy Bait. It was okay but nothing I would rush to make again. Then, I found the original recipe and made it, cutting back on the sugar from 1-1/2 cups to 1 cup. The original recipe was way better. I’ve found a number of other versions on the internet and they all seem to have their own little twist. Stick with the original recipe–it got rave reviews from my family.
Hi Louise. We’re sorry you didn’t love our version, but we’re glad you found one that better suits your taste. You’re right — there are usually many versions of the same recipe just a few clicks away online and with a little tweaking we can find the one that’s perfect for us. Thanks!
Are you christine boehmke of lordship conn? Do you remember me, susan bittner, now susan brower and live in North carolina
The recipe I have uses butter (not oil) and all the dry ingredients are mixed with the shortening cut in and one cup is reserved for a crumb cake topping over the blueberries. I also cut the sugar in the recipe as it is very sweet. In season, Maine wild blueberries are sweet and delicious just as they are. Enjoy!
Can I make this with stevia?
I think my mother made it one time for a family friend, whose a diabetic, using Splenda. I couldn’t tell you how much she used, probably what ever the Splenda pkg says on it in regards to using it as a substitute for sugar.
I should have said at least once, my mother made her mother’s blueberry cake, which is a very similar recipe using Splenda.
With Splenda you use a cup of Splenda for a cup of sugar.
I use Monkfruit for all my recipes cup for cup so my diabetic friends can have some. It doesn’t save on calories but the taste is the same.
Hi Stacy. We haven’t tried a sugar substitute in the Blueberry Boy Bait recipe, so we’re not sure how it would affect the flavor, but you can swap Stevia for the sugar if you’d like. I’d suggest searching the web for a conversion chart to figure out how much to use. Let us know how it turns out!
I think I still have the 1954 booklet of recipes from this Pillsbury contest! My mother-in-law, who was meticulous about everything she did, had tried many of the recipes, and so have I. She checked them off, and included comments both general (“VVG”, Very very good) or specific (“too sweet!”) An extremely dense chocolate cake, almost a mousse, made with slivered almonds, was a favorite. The winners (all women, as I remember) were listed as “Mrs. John Biscuit” instead of “Polly Biscuit,” a sign of the times. Many wore proper little hats. I remember Renny Powell’s recipe because she was such a young winner.
In the day, Mrs. Paula Biscuit would have indicated that the woman was widowed whereas Mrs. John Biscuit indicates that her husband is still living.
I’m curious about this chocolate cake recipe! (Going out Monday for my bimonthly shop and have found frozen wild blueberries at Central Market. Will also be making the BBB, although I’ll be the only one eating it!)
Since I always pick huge amounts of blueberries, I am always looking for a new recipe to try and use them. I tried this today and it was a hit. I also used less sugar and substituted applesauce for the oil/butter. Came out beautifully moist.
This recipe is delicious with a combination of blueberries and raspberries!
Yum love blueberries and raspberries. This recipe is almost like the one my grandmother always made, using blueberries from the bushes in her yard. The differences I see is that grandma used solid crisco, nutmeg instead of cinnamon and lemon extract. And knowing grandma, it may also have had some vanilla extract in it. I will have to check her recipe. She also sprinkled the top with sugar before baking. Hers wasn’t just boy bait it was family bait, we all came running when she called to say she had baked a blueberry cake. Later when I started baking I tried making it with orange juice, cinnamon and cranberries, it was good that way too. 🙂
Is not this name and characterization sexist? Reverse the gender and see how that sounds.
Hi Paul — I’m a boy and I’d love to be baited by this delicious recipe! The name of the recipe is from a time when girls and boys actually fell in love and wholesome recipes weren’t named by PC people. I hope you’ve tried this recipe — let us know!
If you go looking for Political Correctness you’ll find stuff like this everywhere. Do you object to the old saying the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Maybe the boy bait idea was a younger version of that.
chill
silly, silly, silly
I do not find the the name of this recipe offensive. If you do call it Blueberry Date-Bait. This alternate name was suggested in a blueberry lovers cookbook.
The blueberry lovers cookbook is titled Blueberry Love. The author is Cynthia Graubart. She suggested calling it Blueberry Date-Bait.
Let me tell you that this cake is not a Blueberry Boy Bait but a Blueberry Man Harpoon!! My husband loved it. Why reducing the amount of sugar and oil?? Just do it once a year and enjoy the real recipe!!!
Louise
Sounds delicious; Looking forward to giving it a try.
Oh brother Paul choke on it!! Why do have to put a damper on something so wonderful & delicious as this Blueberry BOY Bait?? The first time I make this cake I’m going to make it just as the recipe says & forget about all the calories! Fortunately in CA I can find fresh blueberries & raspberries at the Natural Food Co-Op. Not the same like from New England tho. I will enjoy this for breakfast w/my strong coffee – can’t wait!!
He thinks it makes him sound like a modern enlightened feminist male. Like most men, he just doesn’t get it.
This is so good! I make it with cranberries at Thanksgiving.
I bake this with cranberries at Thanksgiving. It is delicious! My daughter-in-law, who is a wonderful cook, gave it to me!
I’m curious as to why you’d beat for three minutes. Typically, that would develop the gluten in the flour, making the cake less tender. Any ideas, fellow bakers?
Ironically, I have done an immense amount of “research” on this boy bait recipe. Bakers, do yourselves, family and friends a favor and use the original recipe. Or, search for “Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake”, you will not be disappointed. For breakfast, snacking or a la mode for dessert, the original formulation with a crumble topping is not to be missed. Some variations call for using as much as three different kinds of berries which is very yummy. And, use the suggested buttermilk for depth of flavor and nice cake texture.
I have a delicious Blueberry Buckle from am old New England cookbook. It is served with a lemon custard. Fantastic.
Yummy ????
Made this with frozen blueberries which were picked last summer. Quick, easy and delicious results. Feel free to do a cup,or so more than the recipe calls for.
My mother made this- yes- the Pillsbury recipe- when I married- this was my wedding cake, as was another Pillsbury winner: Orange Kiss Me cake Neither has frosting that that was just fine…yes, they were sheet cakes, but it was a bit of a ‘rustic’ wedding so it worked..Dang- I want some of both real soon!
ps- the recipes lasted- the marriage not
Amazing I still have the Philburry large recipe book and 10 smaller. I have made the original a zillion times I think the egg whites make the differn ce. But when I gave recipe to Atlanta daughter I tols her it was a secret Yankee recipe.
I live in Casper, WY – have found over 41 years some recipes I need to use less baking powder and baking soda – do you suggest using less baking powder in this recipe? I have a banana bread recipe from Kingston, NH Volunteer Fire Dept. From the 70’s and do not change anything, it is perfect and a hit! I have a coffee cake recipe from MA and I add flour and less baking powder and baking soda. I have made the Blueberry Buckle recipe, don’t change anything!
Hi, I just have a question. The picture of this blueberry cake looks like it was made in a 9×9 pan but the recipe says use a 9×13 pan. Do you really use a 9×13 pan? Doesn’t seem like the cake would rise much in a big pan or that the batter would fill a 9x 13 pan. Thanks for helping.
I just made this cake in a 9 x 9 pan and it came out fine.
I made this last night… But it came out really “dense”…..it taste good, but dense. I could have beaten it too long…I’m not a seasoned baker…(pun intended) 🙂
Made today, 07/17/2021, as the recipe reads and it came out perfect. Because I baked in a 9 by 13 pan, I shorted the baking time to 30 or so minutes. Tested with toothpicks to make sure was done. Perfect!!
A blueberry almond cake can be made by using 1/2 t vanilla extract and 1/2 t almond extract. Also add 1/2 C sliced almonds and add them with the blueberries. Now that’s bait for whoever you are interested in!