This recipe kind of combines two of my old recipes, being my Blueberry Dreams baumkuchen and my yuzu castella strawberry shortcake. I love the combination of blueberries and citrus, since blueberries on their own have such a mild, sweet flavor, while tartness just adds a sharp contrast, keeping things interesting. Yuzu in particular is a great citrus to pair with blueberries, since it tastes like all of the other citruses in one. There’s more bitter and floral notes in yuzu, but it somehow ends sweet. And since blueberries are so one-note in comparison, adding that really perks it up! For this specific recipe, I used the yuzu castella from my previous recipe, which uses yujacha, or yuzu marmalade, for a moist, soft spongecake. Castella is originally a Portuguese cake that has since been adapted by both Japan and Taiwan. It consists of a lot of whipped eggs, resulting in a springy texture, similar to a genoise sponge cake. Usually a syrup of some kind is also used to add that moisture – rice syrup is typical, but in this case, I used the yujacha in lieu of that. I also macerated blueberries, cooking them in a double boiler with sugar, just to draw out a lot of their moisture and to intensify their flavor. What’s cool about the technique I use is that that the blueberries release a blueberry-flavored syrup, which I dub a consomme just because it is a clear liquid. With my old baumkuchen recipe, I used that as a sauce for that cake, but in this case, I took that and flavored some Greek yogurt, just for a tangier cream component. And just for a floral note to play off of the yuzu, I used purple basil, both in my macerated berries, and just as a cute little garnish on top of my blueberry yogurt.

Makes 6 servings:
For the yuzu castella:
4 eggs, separated
¼ cup granulated sugar
2oz yujacha(citron or yuzu jam)
A pinch of salt
2/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form. In another bowl over a double boiler, whisk together the egg yolks, yujacha, and salt until they reach ribbon-stage: the eggs should be pale yellow in color, very thick and fluffy, and you should be able to write the number “8” with them using a whisk.You should not need to whisk the eggs for longer than 5 minutes on medium-low heat to accomplish that.

Sift the flour into the yolk mixture first, then fold into that flour-yolk mixture the whipped egg whites to form your batter. Pour into 3 lined loaf pans(I used mini 5”x3”x3” loaf pans for my recipe) and gently tap the pans to release any excess air. Bake the cakes in a water bath, at 300 degrees F, for about 35 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool fully before unmolding and slicing into rectangles. Store in an airtight container to keep the cake from drying out.

For the basil-macerated blueberries:
1g purple basil leaves
1 pint fresh blueberries
1oz yujacha
2oz granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

Combine everything in a bowl and cover the bowl with industry-grade cling wrap. Place the bowl over a double boiler, and simmer for 20 minutes. Allow the berries to cool completely. Reserve 2oz of the excess blueberry syrup that forms for the blueberry yogurt.

For the yuzu curd:
2oz yuzu juice
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp unsalted butter

In a pot, bring yuzu juice and salt to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolk. Temper the egg yolk with half of the yuzu juice, then pour everything back into the pot, and whisk on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Take off heat and stir in the butter first, then pass through a sieve to remove any lumps.

For the blueberry yogurt:
2oz blueberry syrup, in two parts
3oz whole fat Greek yogurt
a pinch of salt

Stir one part blueberry syrup, the yogurt, and the salt together until combined. Ripple the rest of the blueberry syrup through to finish.

For garnish:
Purple basil leaves

Start with a dot of the yuzu curd in the center of the bowl. Place down the castella and spoon the macerated blueberries on top. Off to the side, do a quenelle of the yogurt, and garnish the top of that with the purple basil leaves.