Happy 2014, everyone!
I know the New Year resolutions have locked into place for many of you, and while I applaud the efforts of those who resolve to avoid “unhealthy” food, I’m not here to encourage– or even remotely support– that behavior.
I’m here to politely-yet-forcibly derail you the best way I know how (and with the purest of intentions, of course): with something irresistibly sweet, served warm, and studded with juicy, ready-to-burst blueberries.
Because life is too short for deprivation under the guise of a resolution.
Consider this coffee cake the anti-resolution. A decadent blend of dense sour cream cake, finely crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and a blanket of berries and pecans tossed in sugar and spice designed to make your resolution rip at the seams. It’s rustic-meets-modern, and as long as you don’t eat the whole cake in one sitting, it’ll serve you and your tastebuds well.
Blueberry Coffee Cake: the Anti-Resolution
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup refined sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, pulverized in a food processor until a coarse powder
- 1/4 cup refined sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan
- Beat butter with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and smooth
- Add sugar and mix
- Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon zest and mix
- In a separate bowl small mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mix until fully incorporated
- Pour batter into the greased springform pan
- Use a food processor to pulverize Cinnamon Toast Crunch (if you don't have a processor, pour cereal into a ziplock bag, seal, and crush by hand)
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine blueberries, pecans, Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder/crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon
- Sprinkle mixture over batter
- Bake for 38-42 minutes, or until the edges start to turn a gold brown (the cake may still look slightly underdone-- don't worry! The base is supposed to be very moist, and will continue to bake through a bit after it's removed from the oven)
- Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes
- Keeping cake in springform pan, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to set for 1-2 hours.
- Remove springform pan (leaving base intact) and place a plate beneath the cake
- If opting to add glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over cake
- Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.
- Slice and serve (I like to serve it cold!)
*Want to trim a few calories and grams of fat without sacrificing taste and texture? Substitute 8 ounces of Greek yogurt (I like Fage brand) for the sour cream!
(All photos shot with a Nikon D5200 fitted with a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor Lens.)
Amallia @desire to eat says
love your blueberry coffee cake, looks cute.
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks, Amallia!
Heather says
Wow, that looks amazing. The way you described it is perfect too, I can almost taste it–almost. I’m trying to stick to clean eating though for a strict 21 days and to help me ease back into it after a month off. Happy New YEar!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks so much, Heather! And I totally understand the clean eating thing– sometimes it’s important to recalibrate our systems after the month-long gut-busting holiday hustle! Good luck, and on day 22, you should reward yourself with something sweet š
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Your photography is BEYOND stunning! WOW I am soooo impressed with it and your food styling and it makes me want to just dive into this gorgeous cake! Pinned! And I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thank you, Averie!!! I’ve been spending a LOT of time over the past couple months honing my photography and food styling skills– I’m so happy I’m finally starting to see results! I LOVE your blog, by the way. I’m actually planning on giving your snickerdoodle recipe a go in the next day or two!
Hanna says
I’m pretty sure blueberries and pecans are healthy, and if you add a lot of butter and sugar, then it’s tasty! š
Looks great – I’m a sucker for blueberries, nuts, and cake cos tasty things are tasty. š
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks, Hanna! And I’m with you– berries = healthy, nuts = healthy, that’s all the justification I need to convince myself that this coffee cake is good for me š
Paul and Rebecca says
Kailley, Becky and I are sitting here salivating. We don’t have all the ingredients in the house or it would be cooking now. Great photos!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks, Paul! Hope you guys are staying warm today!
Sarah|pickledcapers says
I am of the mind that this cake served at a small ladies’ brunch would result in them all secretly hating me and spreading rumors behind my back. Bookmarked.
Carla says
I made it yesterday.
Thank you very much! One of the best recipes I have ever tried š
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you loved it!! Enjoy š
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out says
Just letting you know that if you wanted to bring this to my office for me to eat all by myself (ok, fine, i’d let you have one piece since you made it and all)…I’d be totally ok with that. š
Danielle @ theCHARMITspot says
This looks delicious! I would love to try this with a cup of blueberry flavored coffee. Yum!
Leah says
This is SO beautiful and I bet it tastes amazing!