Streusel Topped Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

A few weeks ago, one of my friends called to ask if I would cater some meals for the weekend of her brother's wedding. She was hostessing 6-8 extra people in her home for the weekend festivities on top of being a bridesmaid and the mother of the flower girl and ring bearer, helping with the wedding set up, re-modelling a rental property, and working her regular part-time job. I'd say that her plate was pretty full! The last thing she wanted to worry about was how to feed everyone. We agreed that I would provide breakfast on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning, in addition to bringing brunch to the salon where the bridesmaids were getting made up on the day of the wedding and lunch to her house for the family. Let me tell ya, it was a LOT of cooking and baking!

For Friday morning I prepared this coffee cake, a Farmer's Breakfast Casserole (hopefully I'll post that one tomorrow) and a big tray of fresh fruit.

This coffee cake was a big hit! I got comments like, "Are you sure that didn't come from a bakery?" and the most flattering comment from my friend's father, "My mother used to make wonderful coffee cakes like that one. Yours was better." Wow. I was feeling especially proud since I borrowed from a few of the coffee cake recipes that I've tried over the years and developed this one on my own. I probably just got lucky with the right combination, but I'm definitely holding onto the recipe and using it again!

This fragrant (there's lots of vanilla in there!) coffee cake boasts a moist, tender crumb, bursting with juicy berries, and finished the sweet, nutty crunch of two layers of streusel. It's the perfect companion for your morning coffee!

I began by mixing the streusel filling/topping ingredients: white sugar, brown sugar, chopped toasted pecans, cinnamon, and vanilla. Toss it all together and set aside.



Cream the butter and sugar and then add one egg at a time. Beat well after each egg so that the mixture becomes nice and fluffy.



Then mix the dry ingredients together.



Add the dry ingredients alternately with...



the sour cream (mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla). Mix until JUST COMBINED after each addition.



Then fold in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of plump blueberries. I toss my blueberries with flour first to keep them suspended in the batter, rather than sinking to the bottom.



Butter a 9 inch springform pan. I used to think that one springform pan was as good as another. Then, I got this Pampered Chef Springform Pan Setfrom my grandma last Christmas. I busted it out for the first time when I made this cake. It's got a glass bottom and a special tool for loosening the cake from the sides of the pan and even flawlessly removing it from the bottom. If you're shopping for your first springform pan or just looking to upgrade, this one gets my recommendation. It was easy to use and yielded a perfect cake.

Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out so that it's evenly distributed.



Then sprinkle half of the streusel topping over the batter.



Top with the remaining batter.



And finally, the remaining streusel. Now pop the whole thing into the oven for 55-70 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.



Cool on a rack, then run a knife (or the special tool provided with the springform pan) around the edges to loosen before lifting the sides off of the pan.



Cut a big slice, pour a cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy! (If you have issues with self control when it comes to baked goods, then invite some friends to join you!)



Blueberry Coffee Cake

Streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 T. brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon

Toss ingredients together and set aside.

Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour + additional for tossing with blueberries
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch round pan or a springform pan. Combine dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition until the mixture gets fluffy. Add the vanilla to the sour cream and then add alternately with the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined after each addition. Toss the blueberries in some flour, then shake off the excess and fold them into the batter. Spread half of the batter evenly into the bottom of the cake pan. Top with half of the streusel. Top with the remaining batter, followed by the rest of the streusel. Bake for 55-70 minutes until the cake tests done. Cool on a rack.

For a printable copy of this recipe please click here!


* For Hire! If you're reading this from Northeastern Ohio or anywhere above Highway 70/74 in Indiana and would like a personal chef for your wedding weekend, drop me an email. I'd do this again!