Almond Blueberry Coffee Cake

TasteSpotting.  If you haven't been on their website, you need to look at it.  So many beautiful pictures and such variety of recipes.  Today I have fresh blueberries to work with.  A search on TasteSpotting gave me lots of options.  I clicked on a muffin recipe, and from that link I clicked on a couple more, only to end up with a recipe I'm not sure where I got.  No matter, really, because I made so many changes to the recipe. 

The original recipe called for 4 eggs; I used 2 eggs, and 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed mixed in 6 tablespoons of warm water.  I am not sure I care for the flavor that flax seed adds, but I do care for the good nutrients it contains.  The recipe also called for 3/4 cup of sugar; I used 1/2 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of sugar.  I also added blackstrap molasses, which isn't called for in the recipe but I look for any opportunity to add it to a recipe.

Also, the original recipe called for sprinkling 2 teaspoons of sugar over the top before baking.  I forgot that step, and about 10 minutes into baking I remembered it.  I pulled the cake out and put 2 tablespoons of sugar on it.  Then I read the recipe again and saw that I had gone way overboard on the sprinkly sugar.  Still, considering the flax seed issue I have, maybe that was a lucky accident.
 
Finally, the recipe called for almond extract.  I don't have any on hand, so I used vanilla extract.  I'm sure almond extract would have given it a stronger almond flavor.  The finished cake has a nice almond flavor even using vanilla extract.

Here is what the recipe looked like after I got finished messing with it.  It hit a few wet spots on the counter, too.

I still have plenty of blueberries left and can't wait to eat them.  Enjoy!

Almond Blueberry Cake
Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal
1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
2 eggs
½ cup honey
¼ cup sugar + 2T sugar for topping
2 T ground flax seed mixed with 6 T warm water
½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 T blackstrap molasses
½ cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 inch spring-form pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the almond meal, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, the flax seed in water, the honey and sugar. Using the whisk attachment beat for about 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy. It should increase in volume as well. Mix in the molasses and vanilla extract.

Slowly alternate adding the butter and flour mixture, blending after each addition just until combined. The batter will be thick.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly distribute the blueberries on top of the cake, gently pressing each into the batter. Sprinkle on 2 T of sugar.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center with very few crumbs and the sides pull away from the pan. Place on a cooling rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the spring-form pan and cool to room temperature.



based on a 2000 calorie diet