Thursday, May 1, 2014

Frozen Berry Coffee Cake



I grew up with blackberry coffee cake every Sunday morning.  I’m pretty sure the secret family recipe featured Bisquick pancake mix.  In an attempt to make the cake more local this recipe replaces all refined sugars with maple syrup and honey, and makes use of an overnight rest to soften the whole wheat flour.  If you look in your freezer and don’t have any frozen fruit then you know that this summer you need to freeze more (which is how I feel after finishing the raspberries in this cake!). 


Frozen Berry Coffee Cake
Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking’s “Blueberry Cake.”

Cake Batter:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
(or 1 cup of hard sifted flour or light spelt flour instead of the above flours)
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup melted butter or oil
⅓ cup maple syrup
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
2 cups frozen berries (blueberries/serviceberries/raspberries/strawberries/blackberries…)

Streusel Topping:
⅓ cup whole wheat or hard sifted flour
2-3 tbsp. oats/barley flakes/spelt flakes
¼ cup cold butter, chopped into pieces (or use a fork to crush the butter)
¼ cup honey
2-3 tbsp. unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
2-3 tbsp. ground walnuts or pecans (optional)



Mix together the flours, milk, butter/oil, and maple syrup, cover and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning add the salt, baking powder, and egg.  Pour/scoop the batter into a greased cake pan (or pie dish) and top with the frozen berries.  Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix together the streusel topping with a fork or pastry cutter until the butter and dry ingredients have formed together into pea-sized clumps.  Alternatively you can use a food processor to mix it all together. 

Cover the berries with the streusel and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick or fork inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. 

Serve with some really deliciously-strong [organic fair trade] coffee….


Recipe from Jon Spee who blogs about cooking local foods and homebrewing in KW.  

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