Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

I know it may be a little late for a blueberry post, but forgive me -- the summer heat has kept me out of the kitchen, daydreaming about crisp autumn days and apple pies.

Beea-utiful Berries

7.7 pounds of fresh picked blueberries

I spent July 4th with my friends Dawn and Erin in the fields at Emery's Blueberry Farm in New Egypt, NJ picking pounds of fresh, organic berries. We were in the middle of a heat wave in the mid-Atlantic but my seven-plus pounds of berries were worth the sun and sweat. One of the many blueberry recipes I had lined up for the coming weeks and months is this maple blueberry coffee cake.

Here's what I like about this cake: 

1. Maple syrup -- Sweeten your baked goods with maple syrup. Period.

2. Whole wheat flour and flax meal -- Both give the cake a tougher texture, placing this cake in the breakfast category instead of dessert. I know you love streusel. Butter, sugar, cinnamon. Seriously, there is nothing wrong about that trio. And although I love super sweet, cinnamon coffee cakes, the absence of streusel here makes it easier to justify eating this cake for breakfast.

Here's what I will do differently next time:

1. Add more blueberries -- take a look at my pictures of the cake. You will get a yummy blueberry taste using only two cups of berries, but I want my next cake to be bursting.

2. When transferring the batter to your pans, feel free to layer as you like. You can layer the berries in the center of the cake as I did, or fill the pan with two-thirds of the batter before adding your blueberries, so the berries pop out of the top of the cake (picture perfect). Or to ensure that you have juicy berries in every bite, carefully fold the blueberries into the batter.

3. The cake doesn't have a super-cinnamon flavor (cinnamon is only found in the topping). Next time, I will up the cinnamon and add some spice to the cake batter.

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

Makes two loaves or one bundt cake

Cake:

2 3/4 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. flax meal

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 c. Earth Balance (or butter)

1/2 c. maple syrup

1/2 c. raw sugar (or granulated sugar)

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

1 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt

Filling/Topping:

1 1/2- 2 c. blueberries

1/4 c. raw sugar

2 1/2 t. cinnamon 

Preheat your oven to 350°. Grease two 4 x 8 in. loaf pans or one 12 c. bundt pan.

Sift flours, flax meal, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Mix 1/4 c. raw sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter, syrup and sugar in an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. Add yogurt. Gradually add flour mixture and stir until combined.

Pour half of the batter into the bottom of your pan. Sprinkle blueberries and half of the topping mixture on top. Cover with remaining batter and topping.

Bake 45-50 minutes. Enjoy warm or allow to cool before serving.