Blueberry Coffee Cake

I found large, plump, juicy blueberries at the market and decided their best use today would be in a blueberry coffee cake to celebrate the Fourth of July.  Its so nice having the whole family home this morning.  Everyone sleeping in with no time schedules to adhere to....so nice.

What better way to wake up than to the smell of coffee cake in the oven.  I really love this recipe.  The cake is light and fluffy and includes lemon zest.  As I've mentioned before, add lemon, lime or orange zest to a recipe, and it kicks the dish up to a whole new level in my opinion.

This recipe calls for mixing the 2 cups of blueberries with ¼ cup of flour before mixing it in with the rest of the dough.  I thought this was really interesting, as I'd never seen this suggestion in berry recipes before.  By mixing the berries with a bit of flour before combining with the rest of the dough mixture, this will help to prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the pan while cooking.  The berries stay more evenly dispersed.  Pretty cool and it worked.

I also loved the suggestion to sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar on top of the dough before placing in the oven.  When the cake is browned and its time to come out of the oven, the sugar crystals on top of the cake add a nice little sweet and crunchy texture to the mix.

I also learned from the recipe how to make buttermilk if you feel so inclined:   Place 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches the 1-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. You will only use ½ cup of the prepared mixture for the recipe.   I purchased already prepared buttermilk, but if you find yourself in a situation where you have everything but the buttermilk, now you know how to make it!   Below is this recipe that I found on Alexandra Cooks.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!! Happy Fourth!!

Recipe

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Blueberry Coffee Cake

Plump juicy blueberries with lemon zest and sugar sprinkled on top, this blueberry coffee cake is so delicious and such a treat.

Course Breakfast

Author Five Silver Spoons

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 tsp. lemon zest or more zest from 1 large lemon
• ⅞ cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
• 1 egg room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour set aside ¼ cup of this to toss with the blueberries-this will help the berries to not fall to the bottom of the cake
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• ½ cup buttermilk yum!
• * ⅞ cup = ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons
• ** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and ⅞ cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar.
5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. When the toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake, its done. . If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.)
6. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. This is important for settling. I'll warn you, its difficult waiting to dive into this cake.

Recipe Notes

Slightly adapted from AlexandraCooks