Blueberry Coffee Cake

My first recipe is a coffee cake. Often, I wake up in the morning craving something very specific, french toast, muffins, pancakes, stew...all kinds of things. When I get something in my head I generally have to get it done. So, yesterday morning I awoke wanting a blueberry muffin (I knew I had some fresh blueberries in the fridge). I grabbed my vegan cookbook and parused the breakfast treats section where I stumbled upon a very doable coffee cake recipe. Listed below is the recipe with the modifications I made to it.

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 t cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
2 T melted margarine
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
3 T flax seeds (optional)
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t salt
1 cup vegan sour cream
1 immitation egg
2 t vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix the first five ingredients together until marge is fully incorporated, then add nuts. Set aside. Grease an 8 inch square baking dish and preheat the oven to 350°

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, flax seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in sour cream, egg, and vanilla until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Spread into prepared pan and top evenly with streusel mixture. Place in oven for 40-50 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.




So how'd it turn out? FAN FUCKING TASTIC THAT'S HOW! Let me just say that for the past few months I've been battling baking without eggs and losing the fight. My cakes have been crumbly, dry, glue-like, or miraculously all three at the same time. This has been the first success. It was slightly dense but coffee cake usually is. It held together perfectly, tasted phenomenal and, well, you can see how it looks. The modifications I made to the recipe were adding extra sour cream and the ener-g egg. I also threw in the blueberries because, well, hell yeah blueberries.

Anything I'd do differently? Yeah. That fake sour cream can have a bit of that strange "tofu taste". I know I know, "tofu doesn't have a taste," you might say. Well I say you're wrong. And so does everyone else that doesn't like tofu. That strange tofu taste that one gets when having tofu is from a preservative. Soymilk powder to be specific. Yes, it's soy too, just like the tofu, but it's what gives that sort of off flavor that turns ones nose up to the curdled bean. The soy sour cream has it, as does most packaged tofu. To avoid that flavor and get the most out of this recipe I'd make my own soy sour cream with fresh tofu. Soy sour cream is simple: puree 6 ounces of tofu with some lemon juice and canola oil. Voila. Also, this is a lot easier to find than that expensive Tofutti stuff.

In the picture you can see a nice big tab of butter on that slice of coffee cake. This is where my taste comes in. Sure, earth balance makes some damn good vegan margarine. But I LOVE BUTTER. What you're seeing is 100% delicious salted Amish butter. Aside from that little tab of butter, this is an incredibly healthy recipe. I added a few things to the recipe to up the nutrients (flax, wheat germ, blueberries) and of course left out the hydrogenated oils and cholesterol. So, it's cake...yes, but it's a great breakfast; and Mom, this would go great with your favorite Chai Tea.