One of my favorite things to bake in the fall is a Fresh Apple Coffee Cake. It's light and delicious, with the combination of cinnamon and apples hitting the perfect note during autumn weather. While sour cream and coffee cake is probably more orthodox, the cream cheese in this batter is what makes the texture and flavor of the cake so delectable. But what for summer? I wanted to remake the recipe to take advantage of the wonderful summer fruits now in season, so I chose blueberries. I think you'll find its the perfect thing to take to a friend's house for brunch or for Monday at the office when everyone needs a little pick-me-up.
Recipe: Fresh Blueberry Cinnamon Coffee Cake1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. cream cheese (low-fat is okay, but i wouldn't use fat free), softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups blueberries
Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon. Rinse the blueberries and pat them dry but not all the way: add 2 tbsp. of the sugar/cinnamon mixture and toss to coat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a big yellow bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, vanilla and cream cheese together at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture to butter/cream cheese mixture, beating at low speed until well blended. Fold in blueberries gently by hand, until distributed throughout the batter.
Spread into a 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly dry. It's a little difficult to use the toothpick test, since the the blueberries can make little wet spots. Cool in the pan, then remove sides and transfer to a serving platter. I love my springform pan with the serving platter built in--I highly recommend it.