Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake

Had to use up half of a tub of sour cream, and a pint of aging blueberries.  Tom didn't want muffins, and asked for a coffee cake with streusel topping.  So I googled sour cream blueberry coffee cake and found this one on Goop.  

It is a souped-up version of Hobee's, the California cafe where this coffee cake originated.  We've been to the one in Palo Alto.  What's the difference in this recipe and theirs? The real version doesn't have as much fruit and the topping sits on top and doesn't melt into the batter.   

This one is more dense, more like a fruit cobbler than a cake.  A cobbler cake. Delicious.

I tweaked it for us, by adding a little cardamom.  And changing up the steps to make it a little easier to pull together.

---Barbara

Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake

(adapted from the Big American Cookbook)

Makes 9 large squares

1 1/2 cups (1 pint) blueberries

tiny pinch of cardamon (optional)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 t. vanilla

1 cup sugar

for the topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 T. softened unsalted brown sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon (Vietnamese)

1/8 t. ground cardamom (optional)

for serving:

whipped cream or sweetened sour cream 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  An 8 inch pan will also work, but bake about 5 minutes longer.  

Make the streusel* topping:  be sure the butter is very soft, then use a fork to combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom with the butter until it is the texture of wet sand.  

*It is not technically a streusel because it doesn't contain flour in the topping mix.

Rinse the blueberries in cold water, shake off the excess water, add 1/2 cup flour, a tiny pinch of cardamom, and toss together until the blueberries are coated well.  Put in a small bowl and set aside.

Prepare the dry ingredients:  in a bowl, whisk together the 1.5 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Be sure the flour is fluffy.  Otherwise, sift it.

In a larger bowl, or stand mixer, beat together the eggs, sour cream, vanilla and granulated sugar until well combined.   Be sure the mixture is smooth and lemony yellow in color.

On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients, and combine until you have a smooth batter.  Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl, and stir together again.

Pour half of the batter in an even layer in the pan.  

Scatter most of the berries over the top.  Including any excess flour in the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the rest of the batter on top and the few remaining blueberries.

Spread the streusel* topping over the batter, being sure to cover all sections.

Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is uniformly brown.

Let cool before serving.

Serve with either whipped cream or sweetened sour cream which can be made by mixing sour cream with caster sugar (superfine sugar) until the tangy edge is gone, about 1 t. per 1/4 cup, or more if you like a sweeter topping.

B