Blueberry Coffee Cake

It appears that I must be on a breakfast kick or maybe it is just that the early summer mornings are leaving me with extra baking time. Either way the slower mornings and extra time have left me with the ability to make more intricate breakfasts...and the time to experiment, which I absolutely love!

Today after staring into the fridge at a carton of blueberries, I began to rack my brain for different uses seeing as the past few mornings began with either steel cut oats with blueberries or homemade granola topped with blueberries. Now I was looking for an alternative use and a use for all of them! Oh and I forgot to mention, all I really wanted was cake; soft, moist, delicious cake. And I wanted it immediately. 

I decided to search for a new coffee cake recipe. I wanted it to be quick, simple, and definitely satisfy my sweet tooth. It needed to be cake-like. It had to melt in my mouth like a buttery slice of old school bakery cake with a fine crumb texture.

I came across this recipe on the internet and with a few minor changes, I was set. The nice bonus to this coffee cake is that it could also function for a summer dessert. The crunchy crumb topping and the ability to serve it warm with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream is true perfection! And did I forget to mention, I used up all my blueberries!

Ingredients:

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla, like Madagascar Vanilla
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cups AP Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. 

Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. 

With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. 

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. 

Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. Or top it with vanilla ice cream if you are so inclined. I won't tell.

(Adapted from Ina Garten, Food Network)

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