Blackberry Coffee Cake

We went blackberry picking yesterday morning because it was a beautiful day.  With a cool breeze and beautiful sunshine, it really reminded me of a summer day at Northland Camp.  I hope our family can go there for family camp one of these days - I would LOVE it!

She was serious about pickin'...until she got her foot wrapped around a stray thorny bush.  Things went quickly downhill after that.  Poor thing....I still dragged her around encouraging her to shake it off and get more berries!  While we were "having fun", the girls were throwing shoes and car keys out of the wagon while I wasn't looking.  I didn't even realize it until I got to my car and found out that all those items were missing.  We went back through and found 3 out of 4 shoes and a set of car keys. Whew.  Always an adventure around here.  :O)

Here is what we came out with!  Juicy and HUGE...some of them were still tart, but I couldn't throw the red ones away that my sweet Brooke picked!

Of course we had to go and bake them in something.  We made muffins after nap time.  Brooke was so excited that we used her berries!  This is a great basic coffee cake recipe for any fruit you have on hand!

Blackberry Coffee Cake Muffins

(I used this recipe.  I also made this last weekend using blueberries and a 9 inch pan and it was wonderful!)

Topping

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

Batter

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter 

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh or frozen berries (whatever you have on hand!), well drained

First: Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Topping: I used my kitchen aid to mix these ingredients together.  I emptied it into a small bowl.  No need to wash the mixer - just use it for making the batter!  It saves a little bit of time.  :O) 

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 berries.

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.  You can also bake this in a muffin tin.  I distributed the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups and baked for about 25 minutes.  

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. If using a cake pan, 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.

Enjoy!