Blueberry and Walnut Coffee Cake

To kick off staycation with my mom and brother, I made Blueberry and Walnut Coffee Cake using the fresh blueberries that Dan and I hand-picked at Linvilla Orchards. Before baking or cooking almost anything, I skim through multiple recipes and check out food photos to help me get inspired. I was doing just that, leaning towards coffee cake, when my mom asked me what I was up to. When I informed her, she promptly handed over two hand-written recipes that she uses in combination when making coffee cake. One is for the cake, which she got from a Vermont bed and breakfast many years ago, and the other is for the crumble, which she got from an old coworker. Duh, I totally should have asked the baker extraordinaire first, especially with all of her best recipes at my fingertips.

Of course, I made several tweaks, such as adding extra cinnamon and extra walnuts, as well as incorporating whole wheat flour. However, these recipes served as the perfect starting point for what I was aiming to achieve, as they yielded some of the yummiest coffee cake I’ve ever had. My mom even admitted that she liked mine better than hers, and that, ladies and gents, says something.

PART 1: THE CAKE

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp. baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

What you’ll do:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F
• Hand mix all ingredients; add the blueberries last and gently stir in
• Grease a glass baking dish and pour the mixture into the dish

PART 2: THE CRUMBLE

What you’ll need:

• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
• 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

What you’ll do:

• Combine the above ingredients in a mixing bowl; mix well
• Sprinkle over the cake mixture
• Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown and baked through