Blueberry Coffee Cake



Blueberries are finally starting to taste good again. For months, they've been tasteless and mealy but with the advent of spring, they're back in markets with a much better flavor and texture -- just in time for a coffeecake.
The recipe is from Bon Appétit magazine and was just the thing for serving warm from the oven when three of my high school friends came visiting earlier this week. It holds up well too at room temperature, even for a couple of days. That is, if you can keep from eating the whole thing right away.

Ingredients
Servings: 8–12

Crumb Topping

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I'd use just a pinch of table salt here next time.)
  • 1/4 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Cake

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I would use just a pinch of table salt next time)
  • 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups fresh (or frozen, thawed) blueberries (about 10 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) (not necessary - the Panko doesn't really stick to the blueberries anyway)

Instructions:


  • Preheat oven to 350°. Coat 8 x 8 inch pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; set aside. (I used a buttered cast iron skillet.) Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
  • Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 3/4 cup sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy, 3–4 minutes longer.
  • With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to bowl in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Pour half of batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Whisk remaining 3 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly over batter in pan. Spoon remaining batter over; smooth top.
  • Toss blueberries with panko in a small bowl; scatter evenly over batter. Sprinkle crumb topping over blueberries.
  • Bake cake until top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55–65 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. 

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