• Simmer: In a small pot, combine frozen blueberries, sugar, and water. Cover and bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Left: Frozen blueberries and sugar in a pot. Right: Covered pot on a stove.
• Thicken: Uncover the pot and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until most of the water evaporates and you're left with a thick, jammy consistency, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer the blueberry compote to a small bowl and allow it to cool completely before using.
• Left: Stirring blueberry compote in a pot with a spatula. Right: Cooked blueberry compote in a bowl.

Chiffon Cake

• Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottoms of three 6" round pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Separate eggs: Separate the egg whites and yolks into two large bowls, being careful not to get any yolk in the egg whites. Set the bowl of egg yolks aside.
• Left: Hand holding an egg yolk, with the egg whites dripping down into a bowl. Right: Pouring egg whites into a mixing bowl.
• Beat egg whites: Add cream of tartar to the egg whites. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until they become frothy, resembling cappuccino foam.
• Left: Beating egg whites with a hand mixer. Right: Beating frothy egg whites with a hand mixer.
• Whip to stiff peaks: Gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks (when you pull the mixer out of the bowl, the meringue should stand up in pointy peaks with a slight curl at the tips). Set aside.
• Left: Sprinkling sugar into egg whites while mixing with a hand mixer. Right: Egg white meringue at stiff peaks.
• Egg yolk mixture: To the egg yolks, add the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Use the same hand mixer to blend until combined. Sift the cake flour and baking powder into the egg yolk mixture using a fine mesh sieve. Mix again until smooth.
• Left: Egg yolks and ingredients in a mixing bowl. Right: Sifting flour into the egg yolk mixture.
• Combine egg whites and egg yolk mixtures: Add ⅓ of the egg white meringue to the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold them together until mostly combined. Add the rest of the meringue and fold until there are no streaks remaining. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl where thicker batter may settle.
• Left: Dropping meringue into the egg yolk mixture from a spatula. Right: Folding chiffon cake batter together with a spatula.
• Fill pans: Divide the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans (about 185-200g of batter per pan). Lift and drop each pan on the counter to remove any large air bubbles.
• Left: Pouring cake batter into a cake pan on a scale. Right: Three cake pans filled with cake batter.
• Bake: Bake the cakes for about 25-27 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown. Turn the pans upside down on a wire rack and let them cool completely.
• Left: Three baked cakes cooling on a wire rack. Right: Cake pans flipped upside down on a wire rack.
• Release cakes: Once the cakes have cooled, run an offset spatula around the edges of each cake and turn them out of the pans. Peel the parchment paper off the layers.
• Left: Running an offset spatula around a cake in a pan. Right: Hand peeling parchment paper off a cake layer.

Blueberry Whipped Cream

• Whip cream: In a large mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, powdered sugar, blueberry compote, and vanilla extract. Use a hand mixer to beat until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
• Left: Ingredients for whipped cream in a bowl. Right: Beating whipped cream with a hand mixer.

Assemble the Cake

• Filling: Place the first cake layer on a cake turntable. Spread a layer of blueberry whipped cream over the cake. Add a layer of blueberry compote in the center of the whipped cream. Top with another cake layer and repeat.
• Left: Spreading blueberry whipped cream on top of a cake layer with a spatula. Right: Spreading blueberry compote on top of whipped cream with a spatula.
• Frost: Apply a thin layer of whipped cream as a crumb coat over the entire cake. Chill the cake in the fridge for about 10 minutes (optional). The crumb coat will not harden like buttercream, but it helps set the layers. Then, apply a final coat of whipped cream and smooth it out with a bench scraper to remove any excess.
• Left: Frosting the sides of a cake with blueberry whipped cream. Right: Scraping excess frosting off the sides of a cake with a bench scraper.
• Decorate: Garnish the cake with fresh or thawed blueberries and sprigs of thyme, if desired.