Blackberry Coffee Cake
An easy blackberry coffee cake with sour cream that's moist, flavorful, and ideal for breakfast or dessert. Adapted from Maida Heatter's classic coffee cake recipe, this one gets folded with plump blackberries for a special summer take on an all-time favorite cake.
Servings: 12 squares (one 13" x 9" x 2" cake)
Calories: 415kcal
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, diced
- 1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
For the Cake Batter
- 18 ounces fresh or frozen blackberries (about 4 cups)
- 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Morton's is quite salty)
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease or line with parchment paper a 9"x13"x2" rectangular cake pan.
- Make the topping by stirring the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingers until you get sandy crumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts, and set aside.
- Now let's make the sour cream coffee cake batter. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium until lightened and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until light. Scrape the bowl once or twice with a spatula during this process to ensure that the batter is evenly mixed.
- Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture in two additions, alternating with the sour cream (dry, sour cream, dry). Scrape the bowl.
- Use a spatula to stir in 3/4 of the blackberries (about 3 cups). Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, and use the spatula to smooth the top. Top the cake evenly with the streusel, and dot all over with the remaining blackberries.
- Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool until warm. Cut into 12 squares. Remove them from the cake pan with an offset brownie spatula or similar.Serve plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar, dollop of whipped cream, or some ice cream. And, as ever, with coffee.
Notes
Storing and Freezing This Cake
Blackberry coffee cake keeps well at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Store in an airtight container or covered with foil to help keep it moist.
This cake also freezes well. Wrap the cake tightly in foil or plastic wrap, and freeze for up to two months. Let it thaw at room temperature, and if you like, warm in the oven before serving. I like to cut the coffee cake into large squares, wrap them individually, and freeze them. That way, you can pull out any quantity you need, whenever you need it.
Baking Tips
- How to Prevent Berries From Sinking in the Cake: The best way to ensure that your berries don't sink is to remove a few tablespoons of flour from the batter recipe quantity, and toss the berries in it before adding them to the cake. This provides a "grippy" coating that will help suspend the blackberries in the cake batter. (That said, I've never really had an issue with the blackberries sinking at all.)
- Making This Blackberry Coffee Cake Into Muffins: This coffee cake also makes about 24 standard size muffins. Portion the batter into paper-lined muffin tins, and divide the streusel topping among each muffin and bake. Muffins will take about 20 to 25 minutes to bake.
Nutrition
Calories: 415kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 570IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
