Blueberry Coffee Cake

In honor of Suzanne’s Blueberry Bash, here is a yummy recipe using one of the world’s most perfect fruits. I’m with Kristen; I can eat blueberries by the handful right out of the colander. Should I be disciplined enough to actually bake with them, then a coffee cake’s the way to go. I love the way the blueberries hang onto their shape and then burst open with flavor when you bite into them.

Don’t be put off by the olive oil in this recipe, by the way. It makes for a very moist and tender cake.

• 11/4 C. flour
• ½ tsp. soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¾ C.sugar, divided
• ½ C. buttermilk
• ¼ C. light olive oil
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 T. grated orange zest
• 1 T. orange juice
• 1 ½ C. fresh blueberries, washed & drained
• 1 tsp. flour
• 2 T. sliced almonds
• 1 T. sugar

Grease side and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil (use a mister if you’ve got one) and dust with sugar. Combine first 3 ingredients with ½ C. sugar in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Whisk together buttermilk, olive oil and egg yolks. Add to dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Stir in orange zest and juice.

In another large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form (about 1 minute). Gradually add ¼ C. sugar. Beat at high speed until stiff (2-3 minutes). Using a few strokes, whisk one half of cake batter into egg mixture. Gently whisk in remaining cake batter until no white streaks remain. Pour into prepared pan.

Toss blueberries with 1 tsp. flour and sprinkle over batter. Sprinkle the almonds and 1 T. sugar on top of it all. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (55-60 minutes). Cool 10 minutes; remove side from pan. Cool 5 minutes; invert; remove bottom of pan. Invert again onto pretty serving plate and dig in.

Recipe adapted from The Byerly Bag magazine