Blueberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• — Streusel —
• 1/2 cup all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed (or cold coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• — Cake —
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter (or coconut oil)
• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or plant-based yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
• 1 tablespoon flour, for tossing
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

How to make it

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9-inch square pan (or line it with parchment).

2. 2

   Make the streusel: stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the cold butter with your fingertips or a fork until the mixture clumps like wet sand. Stir in the nuts if using. Refrigerate while you make the batter — cold streusel bakes into crunchy pebbles instead of melting into a glaze.

3. 3

   Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

4. 4

   In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the yogurt and vanilla.

5. 5

   Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low just until the last streak of flour disappears — overmixing makes a tough cake, and coffee cake lives on tender.

6. 6

   Toss the blueberries with the tablespoon of flour, then fold them into the batter gently with a spatula, three or four folds. A few purple swirls are fine; they're pretty.

7. 7

   Spread the batter into the prepared pan, then crumble the chilled streusel evenly over the top, pressing lightly so it clings.

8. 8

   Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. If the streusel browns too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.

9. 9

   Cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before slicing — warm is wonderful, hot is chaos. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with coffee, obviously.