In my life, the month of June is filled with nostalgia–of blueberry-baking days past and present, counting out and buying canning jars, and remembering my mother’s life (and death). Even in my early years, we were a very small but very active nuclear family of two, three if you add my Grandma Lilly. In no particular order, we baked, picked berries, drove hours to a country inn for fried chicken and blackberry pie, “argued” over the proper amount of streusel critical for topping a sour cream coffee cake (I won that one), and challenged each other over the quantity of frosting destined to cover her buttermilk chocolate layer cake (my ma won that one then, but I got the last word in Baking Style: Art, Craft, Recipes).

This cake, blueberry-rich and oh-so-simple to make (and devour), is in honor of my mother’s memory. It’s made by hand and baked in a plain 8-inch square pan. She, along with my paternal grandmother, taught me the art of baking, and right now I’m imagining that somewhere both are delighting in this cake.