Old-Fashioned Blueberry Coffee Cake

Old Fashioned Blueberry Coffeecake

I love it when a recipe has the words “old-fashioned” in its title. There is a certain comfort factor in those words. I makes me think of when I was a child and my mother baked something warm and yummy. I particularly loved her coffee cakes that had a crumbly topping with lots of cinnamon and nuts in it. In my mother’s recipe box I have a recipe for sour cream coffee cake, and this recipe today is very similar to that one. The major difference that I can see is that this one uses buttermilk in place of the sour cream. But the soft crumb texture of the cake is just like what I remember.

Fresh blueberries are now appearing in the market and I bought some, not really knowing what I would do with them, but then I found this recipe for the coffee cake, so that decided the question. The day I baked it we had to have a piece while it was still warm. Oh my! It was everything you could imagine. The cake has three textural layers; the tender cake, heavily scented by cinnamon, the blueberries oozing their juices, and a crunchy, crumb topping. You had better not skip dessert, if this cake is being served! If blueberries are not available, use any of your favorite fresh or frozen berries.

All the layers can be seen in each piece.

OLD FASHIONED BLUEBERRY COFFEECAKE

Yield : 8 – 12 servings

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup nuts, chopped ( suggest walnuts or pecans)
3 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cake:

non-stick pan spray
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
6 Tbsp. ( 3/4 stick ) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed blueberries
1 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs

Prepare the crumb topping: Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter; using your fingertips, work butter into dry ingredients until large, moist crumbs begin to form. Stir in chopped nuts. Set topping aside.

Prepare the cake: Preheat oven to 350*F. Coat an 8-inch square pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

1. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 3/4 cup sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, 3 – 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy, 3 – 4 minutes longer.

3. With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to bowl in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Pour half of batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Whisk remaining 3 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, sprinkle evenly over batter in pan,

Half the batter covered by a layer of cinnamon sugar.

Spoon remaining batter over, smooth top.

Remaining batter goes on top.

4. Toss blueberries with panko in a small bowl; scatter evenly over batter.

Spread blueberries evenly on top.

Sprinkle crumb topping over blueberries.

Crumb topping makes the top layer.

5. Bake cake until top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 -65 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Store air-tight at room temperature.