Blueberries were very hard to come by for the first several years I lived here in the UK. I m happy to say that in the intervening years they have become readily available, and actually quite affordable. We can buy them in all of the grocery stores now, even the budget shops.
The Toddster and I also grow our own as well now, which means I have lots to use in a variety of ways. They are not quite as flavorsome as the wild ones from back home, but they are still pretty good!
We had the missionary elders for tea last night and so I baked them a little taste of home in the way of this fabulous Blueberry Coffee Cake. The British idea of a coffee cake is a cake which is highly flavored with Coffee, as in a Coffee and Walnut Cake. This is NOT one of those . . .
Instead this is a coffee cake in the North America sense, which merely means that it is a lovely moist cake, sometimes with a crumble topping, perfect for enjoying with a hot or cold drink . . . perfect for brunches . . . and yes, a great dessert when served warm and topped with ice cream or cream.
This is exactly that kind of cake . . . with a moist and tender cake batter, flavored and moistened by the use of lemon yogurt . . . with the fruity topping of a generous amount of fresh blueberries . . . and a moreish buttery crunch of cinnamon flavoured brown sugar streusel on top. Delicious. Simple. Quick to make. You can substitute butter for the vegetable shortening if you wish.
*Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake*
Makes one 9 inch square cakePrintable Recipe
This cake has no coffee in it. It is merely a moist cake, chock full of berries and topped with a cinnamony streusel topping, perfect for coffee break or elevensies with a hot drink.
for the cake:110g of white vegetable fat (TREX or Crisco, 1/2 cup)145g of white sugar (/3/4 cup)1 large free range egg280g plain flour (2 cups all purpose)2 1/2 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp salt60ml of milk1/2 tsp vanilla55g of lemon yogurt (1/4 cup)400g punnet of fresh blueberries (about 2 cups)For the streusel:200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup, loosely packed)105g of plain flour (3/4 cup all purpose)3/4 tsp ground cinnamon75g of softened butter (1/3 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking tin. Line with baking paper. Set aside. (I like to leave enough overhang so I can lift it out when it is done.)
Cream the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and yogurt. Add the flour to the creamed mixture, alternating with the wet ingredients, until combined and equally moist. Spread in the prepared baking tin. Cover with the blueberries. To make the streusel, mix all of the streusel ingredients together in a bowl, rubbing them together with the finger tips until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of the berries.
Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan until just warm. Lift out and cut into squares to serve.
Note - Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is awfully good on this. Just saying is all.
