Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake

Some days I'm so glad I did all that work during the summer months to stash goodies while they were in season so I can eat them when they are not.  Yesterday was one of those days.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, all I can think about is pumpkin, apples, stuffing, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and squash, all while wearing my wool socks, slippers, and two sweaters...it's just kind of nice to have a somewhat summery diversion right about now.

So, instead of making an apple cranberry coffee cake, I decided to make a blueberry one.  And it was great because yesterday was one of the few recent days where the sun was shining and 49 degrees (F) felt positively balmy.  Not quite summer, but it tasted like it, and that counts.

As with all my desserts, there is no processed sugar in this coffee cake (or is it a buckle?  I'm not really sure, to be honest).  I used raw honey to sweeten both the cake and the topping.  The thing to remember when using natural sweeteners, especially honey, is that after it is baked into something, that something needs to rest so the honey can do its sweetening thing.  That means this: don't eat this cake warm right out of the oven because it won't be very sweet just then.  Wait at least 30 minutes or until it has cooled completely.  Or better yet, make it in the evening and wait to eat it until breakfast the next day. It's even better topped with vanilla spiked Greek yogurt or whipped cream.

For those of you just beginning to cook, or are just learning how to manipulate recipes, this coffee cake is a basic alteration of a classic coffee cake recipe.  Feel free to use it as a base, but alter the fruits and flavorings.  For instance, for an apple coffee cake, simply replace the blueberries with the same amount of finely diced apples, swap the raw honey for pure maple syrup, replace the almonds with pecans or walnuts, use vanilla extract instead of almond, and add a little cinnamon to the batter.  Or, you could also use cranberries or raspberries instead of blueberries, and orange zest instead of lemon. It's pretty much fool proof; you'd have to try really hard to mess it up.  For as much as I love trying new recipes, I often come back to this one (with variations) when I'm looking for an easy, healthy coffee cake to just whip up without having to think too terribly hard about it, and I know it'll always turn out just right.

Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake

serves 9

Almond Topping:

• 1/2 c sliced or chopped raw almonds
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cake:

• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel (preferably from an organic lemon)
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder (such as Rumford)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c raw honey
• 1/4 c butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract (such as Simply Organic Almond Extract)
• 2 c fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F.  Oil and flour a 9 inch baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, lemon peel, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and honey until smooth.  

Blend in the egg, buttermilk, and almond extract until just mixed.

Pour the honey and buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture.  Mix well.

Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. 

Sprinkle the almond topping evenly over the batter.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool.  Serve topped with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt.

Hearth & Soul Tuesday Blog Hop

Pear Studded Pumpkin Bread

I spent the day roasting pumpkin and making puree.  If you haven't done it yourself, this is the year you must!  It's practically effortless, and much, much less expensive than buying the prepared solid packed pumpkin in the stores; I picked up pie pumpkins as the farmer's market for 75 cents each.  Use homemade puree the same as you would the canned puree.

To make your own puree, simply cut your pie pumpkin in half, and scoop out the pulp and seeds (save the seeds for roasting later). Cut each half into 2 chunks (now you have 4 pieces per pumpkin),  place the quarters in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake at 325F for about 45 minutes (or until tender).  Remove the pumpkin meat from the shell with a spoon, place it in a food processor and puree.  It's as easy as that.  I freeze mine in 1 and 2 cup portions.

Along with pancakes, waffles, muffins, pies, and soups, homemade pumpkin puree works beautifully in this healthy, hearty, breakfast-worthy quick bread. The bread remains moist because of the pumpkin and the fresh pears.  The sweetness comes from the pears and raw honey, but if you want your bread a little sweeter, you can safely add another 1/4 c honey without compromising the loaf.  Personally, I find it sweet enough (especially once the bread is cooled completely), but often, when people go from white flour and white sugar to whole grain flour and natural sweeteners, they get discouraged because the sweetness is more subtle than it is with refined sugars.  If this is you, I'd like you not to be discouraged, so go ahead and add the extra 1/4 cup of honey.  If this is not you, and your taste buds are already used to the difference, keep the measurements just how they are.

Pear Studded Pumpkin Bread
makes 1 loaf

• 1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder, such as Rumford
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c raw honey
• 1/4 c oil (coconut, olive, canola, butter, etc...)
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract, such as Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract, or homemade
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 medium pears, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 c walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  Oil and flour an 8x4 loaf pan.

With a paper towel or pastry brush, smear the oil or butter all over the inside of the pan

Add about 1 Tbs flour to pan and shake it around until it coats the oil; discard any loose flour

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, honey, oil (be sure to warm your oil to a liquid state if using butter or coconut), vanilla, and egg until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined (batter will be thick).

Fold in the nuts and pears.

Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edges and carefully turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.