When life gives you an extra cup of sour cream, what to do? Why, make sugary, wonderful blueberry coffee cake, of course.
OK, so that’s my logic when I had leftover sour cream in the fridge from making another dish. After all, why let all that creamy lusciousness go to waste? With the addition of a little cake flour, plus a nifty trick where you create a poofy rising agent from mixing the sour cream with the baking soda, this recipe creates a sweet treat with a tender, moist, and very soft crumb. It’s from “Baking By Flavor” (John Wiley & Sons) by baking specialist Lisa Yockelson.
Yes, there’s quite a bit of granulated and brown sugar in the topping. But hey, it wouldn’t be coffee cake without it. Plus, this cake has a cup of fresh blueberries strewn throughout. With blueberries so rich in antioxidants, you can tell yourself this cake actually might be just a tiny bit good for you. That’s my logic, and I’m sticking to it.
Blueberry Coffee Cake
(makes one 9-by-9-inch cake, creating 16 squares)
Nonstick cooking spray, for preparing baking pan
For cinnamon and sugar topping:
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, sieved if lumpy
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For cake batter:
1 cup thick, cultured sour cream
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsifted bleached cake flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Film the inside of a 9-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly combine granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and cinnamon; set aside.
Combine sour cream and baking soda in a medium-size mixing bowl. The mixture will swell and puff a bit as it stands.
Sift flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg onto a sheet of waxed paper. In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly toss blueberries with 1 ½ teaspoons of sifted mixture. The blueberries must be well coated with the flour mixture, so that they remain suspended in the cake batter.
Cream butter in large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderately low speed for 2 minutes. Add superfine sugar and beat 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
On low speed, add half of sifted ingredients, the sour cream-baking soda blend, then the remaining sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured. The batter will be moderately thick. Fold in blueberries.
Scrape batter into prepared baking pan. Smooth over the top with a rubber spatula or flexible palette knife. Sprinkle topping evenly over surface of batter.
Bake cake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until set and a wooden pick inserted in the cake withdraws clean. Cool cake in pan on a rack for at least 20 minutes before cutting into squares for serving. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.