Blueberries & Goodbyes

Tomorrow I'm leaving on for Italy with my family - a wonderful 10-day trip through Venice, the Chianti region of Tuscany and Florence. My mouth is already watering for all of the gelato I will consume, and I'm anxiously awaiting all of the beautiful sites and sounds. I made a whirlwind trip through Rome and Florence when I was in college, so I'm relieved that this time around I will have plenty of time to relax and really enjoy my time there. And did I mention the gelato?

On the downside, Steve will not be joining us on this trip. I know how much he would love to be there (the pictures he would take would be magnificant), and I'm going to miss having my best friend there with me! Hopefully our kitties will be keeping him company so he won't get too lonely.

This weekend I bought a massive container of blueberries for a blueberry lemon coffee cake. Everything went smoothly until I realized that the recipe was written for an 8-inch springform pan. Mine is a 9-inch. "What difference could that inch really make?" I asked myself. Apparently a big difference, because the cake ended up very thin, not puffy and beautiful as I had envisioned. However, what the cake lacked in looks, it made up for in taste. I'm not a big blueberry eater but I definitely shoveled slice after slice of this into my mouth!

I hope everyone has fabulous 4th of July holiday, I can't wait to see all of the red, white and blue bakin'! I'll be scarfing down Italian pastries and hopefully bringing some baking inspiration home with me.

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

Recipe adapted by Lazy Susin from Joy of Baking

Streusel Topping:
1/3 C all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (4 T) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Lemon zest

Cake Batter:
1 Call purpose flour
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 C milk
2 C fresh blueberries

1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 C (4 T) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C granulated white sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1-2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
For streusel topping: In a large bowl, mix together the flour and sugar and lemon zest. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside while you make the cake batter.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture, alternately with the milk, and beat only until combined. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Spread the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
Evenly arrange the blueberries on top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the streusel topping.
Bake for about 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature.