It was my turn to pick the recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly again this week, and I was craving something sweet! I have been recording old episodes of Ellie's cooking show, which now air on Cooking Channel, and recently saw an episode where she made this Blueberry Coffee Cake. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it would be my next choice for the group.
It's a lower-fat variation on an old classic: moist, lightly sweetened coffee cake, with a middle layer of fresh blueberries, cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts. The cake batter is topped with more streusel, and then baked until nice and golden brown.
Since I will look for just about any opportunity to use my silly brownie pan (the one that pre-slices the brownies/cake/granola bars for you), I decided to utilize it here. What can I say, I just happen to take my portion control seriously! I like the peace of mind of knowing that each slice of cake is evenly cut; that way, when I calculate the calories and such, I can feel more confident that it'll be the same with each slice. The drawback to using this pan is that I think once the slices are cut, they don't stay as fresh as they would if you just cut slices as you ate through the cake.
That said, I think this cake actually kept very well. I had it in an airtight container for about 5 days, and the cake was still very good on the last day. I preferred eating it warm to room temperature. Microwaving the cake for just about 20 to 30 seconds before eating it really served to wake up the flavors better.
I did love this cake, although you could definitely tell it was healthier than "regular" coffee cake. It lacked the sweetness of other coffee cakes, but that was just fine with me. It just helped you experience the other flavors better. I adore cinnamon, so of course I loved it here. The blueberries really brought a welcome tangy punch to the table, and the walnuts were just perfect. I could see this being a coffee cake that I revisit when I have overnight guests, or even just when the boys and I might be in the mood for something different thrown into our breakfast routine.
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Delicious choice this week. It was perfect and I stashed some away in the freezer where no one else can find it. All mine!
ReplyDeleteI have been out of commission this week so I have not made this yet, but yours looks very tasty. I'm going to try and get it made by the weekend. Great pick!
ReplyDeletePerfect! We loved it and it's a definite repeater around here for weekends. Mark took some in his lunches as well and enjoyed it. Great choice, so happy you picked this as I would not have ever tried it otherwise...well, unless she comes out with another book and it's in there!
ReplyDeleteGreat pick Bri! I really liked it, your cake looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThis really was a great pick, and I'm so glad your choice encouraged me to bake this week. I will definitely use fresh fruit next time, but otherwise I really wouldn't change anything. Five days?? Ours only lasted two... actually Ryan had already eaten half of it within the first day, but I managed to save myself a piece until the next day :) I guess next time I should make the full recipe instead of a half batch.
ReplyDeleteI didn't try this, but I loved the batter. :) My husband raved about it. Great pick!
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