crumby, but not crummy

I'd like to personally thank the chap or dame who first decided that eating cake for breakfast was a good and acceptable idea.



Although I enjoy oatmeal and cheesy grits (especially in the winter) and biscuit sandwiches and heck, even cold cereal as breakfast fare, I think cake is a fine way to go. I can easily convince myself that I'll get my daily dose of protein, vitamins, and other healthy stuff from my lunch and supper.

I love pancakes, but they're not ideal for occasions when I'm in a hurry (although I try my darnedest to give myself plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast). On those days, a slab of coffee cake is perfect.

Like banana bread, gazillions of coffee cake recipes are floating around out there. Some make use of sour cream, others employ cream cheese. Add-ins range from chocolate chips to orange marmalade. Many involve a streusel of some sort (and I would argue that those streusel-less recipes are simply not worth my time, effort, and ingredients...).



Speaking of a tasty streusel, it's by far the redeeming quality of this particular coffee cake. Had it not been so thick and rich and flavorful, I probably wouldn't feel as strongly about the treat as I do. The blueberries are also nice--they're plentiful and provide a nice burst of flavor in every bite. My one gripe would be regarding the cake portion--it was a bit dry. This is undoubtedly my fault--I replaced the sour cream and egg yolk with low-fat yogurt and an entire egg, respectively. Oops.

Crumby Crumb Cake
(based on this recipe, which is based on this recipe)

Crumbs:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cake:
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt, low fat (not recommended in lieu of sour cream)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
To make the crumbs, in a large bowl, stir together the sugars, cinnamon, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in the flour with a spatula. It should look like a solid dough. Pat it down and set it aside.
To prepare the cake, in a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the softened butter and a spoonful of the yogurt mixture and mix until flour is moistened. Add the remaining yogurt mixture in two batches, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter. Using your fingers, break the topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch in size. Sprinkle the lovely crumbs over the blueberries. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.