Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Deep down in my heart (and up here in my head), I know that not every new recipe will be a success story.

But dang it, I'm in denial.

Not everything I bake comes out ready to dazzle, awe, and pose for the camera. This is too true, too often.  I have days when cookies turn out all greasy and flat, the cheesecake has a semi-cooked center, and Swiss meringue buttercream refuses to cooperate. Note to certain people in my life who think I can bake no wrong: I, ahem, can and do bake wrong. (I love you.)

This blueberry buckle coffee cake is a success story. In a way I never expected.

Say hello to the peach pie I baked a few weekends ago. It's the pie I won't ever share with you on this blog.

The problem? It looked amazing but the filling had a bit too much flour in it, and the peaches had juiced a bit too much in the oven. Runny, cloudy, flour-y pie filling- not my thing. My church group liked it, for which I am grateful but terribly confused. There are better pies out there, and I'm determined to show them.

Or maybe I need to listen and believe they mean what they say.

Outrageous!

Sometimes it's me. Sometimes it's not me.

Sometimes it's me, because I notice the less-than-perfections while others notice the more-than-perfections. Sometimes it's the recipe, misleading info of the final product, the weather, the oven, or just a bad day.

I guess I expected a blueberry-filled version of the coffee cake I loved so much.

I wanted dense, fine-crumb cake batter with the thickest, bulkiest streusel on top. This was the softest, the most tender, the most moist cake ever. While that sounds really amazing, I wanted a cake that held together better. Plus the streusel was a real let-down. Definitely not my best work.

But what do you know? Everyone loved it. Absolutely, positively LOVED this cake.

Maybe it's the insane amount of blueberries I had to incorporate into the batter. Too good to be true, this is kinda crazy type of the darkest, the juiciest berries in the cake.

Maybe it was the buttery-sugariness of the crunchy streusel top that got 'em.

Maybe they liked it because it actually was really good.

Maybe I need to relax once in a while, and let people eat cake. Trust that everything is going to be just fine. Who knows? Maybe I'll learn a thing or two and recognize a special success when I see it.


Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Topping

• 1/3 cup (2 ounces) sugar
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

Batter

• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, well drained

Directions:

First: Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Making the Topping: Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut or rub in the butter or margarine with the side of a fork, two knives or your finger tips until it reaches a crumbly state. Set aside.

Making the Batter: Blend the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, butter or margarine, egg and vanilla. Alternately add the milk and the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, ending with flour. Stir only enough to blend. Fold in the blueberries.

Assembling & Baking: Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured, 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the topping over the batter and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester or knife comes out clean.

Let the buckle cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a knife or spatula. Holding the cake pan in your left hand, gently tip the cake out onto your right hand, remove the pan, and gently right the cake onto a serving dish.

From King Arthur Flour