Tuesday Tastings :: Blueberry-Lemon Coffee Cake

This weekend, in between the SXSW madness and hopping from panel to party and home again… I had a sudden urge to bake. Not sure what brought it on (other than my usual cravings for something sweet,) but I stole a couple hours away from the crowds, strapped Phoebe in her baby carrier and fired up the oven. But since a trip to the grocery store wasn’t in the cards, I had to get creative and come up with something I could make using only the contents of my fridge. Lots of lemons and fresh blueberries led me to doing some kind of breakfast cake or muffins…and my mom always told me that any cake recipe that included sour cream as an ingredient was probably good. I only had half a container, but guess what? I had tons of plain greek yogurt, which seemed like a pretty good stand-in (healthier, too!) I decided to make a streusel using brown sugar and almonds ground up in the food processor, and this super addictive coffee cake was born. I happen to have a more-is-more philosophy when it comes to anything lemon-y, so I infused this cake with tons of it by adding plenty of juice and zest. And don’t worry, it’s completely acceptable to call it “bread” and eat it for breakfast, too. Keep reading for the recipe…

Blueberry-Lemon Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

for the streusel:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 3/4 cup roasted almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

for the cake:

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks)
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Instructions:

1. For the streusel: Place the flour, sugar, 1/4 cup of the dark brown sugar, and the cinnamon in a food processor and process to combine. Transfer 1 1/4 cups of this mixture to a small bowl and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. (this will be the streusel for the inside of the cake.) Add the butter, almonds and salt to the remaining ingredients in the food processor bowl. Process until the nuts and butter have been broken down into small pebbly pieces, about ten 1-second pulses. (This will be the streusel for the top of the cake.)
2. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 cup capacity tube pan with 2 tablespoons softened butter. In a small bowl combine the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and half the lemon zest.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix for 30 seconds until well combined. Add the butter and yogurt and mix on a low setting until all the ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix for an additional 30 seconds. Decrease to low speed and slowly add the egg and sour cream mixture, in 3 additions, beating for 30 seconds and scraping the bowl after each addition. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional minute until aerated and pale in color.
4. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the rest of the lemon zest.
5. Add 2 generous cups of batter to the bottom of the prepared tube pan and spread it around evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with half the blueberries. Sprinkle with about half of the (no nuts) streusel. Add 1 1/2 cups of the batter and spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle on the rest of the blueberries. Sprinkle on the rest of the (no nuts) streusel. Top with the remaining batter and sprinkle on all of the streusel with nuts.
6. Bake until top springs back lightly to the touch, about 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the pan to a rack and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
7. Place a rimmed baking sheet over the top of the cake and invert onto the pan (the cake should be upside down with the streusel on the bottom.) Remove the tube pan, place a wire rack on the cake, and reinvent so the streusel is facing up. Cool for 2 hours and serve.

*I wanted to make 4 small coffee cakes, so I divided batter and streusel between 4 miniature loaf pans and baked for 45 minutes.

**photos by Camille