Blueberry Pecan Coffee Cake

I got so excited the other day when I saw some Michigan Blueberries being sold at a nearby deli shop. It was a little more expensive than when you buy it in Holland (my former Michigan hometown) but I was desperately missing these yummy berries, I thought I'd indulge. Oh, they were so juicy and sweet! It's a shame that we were not able to go blueberry picking before we left for Connecticut. I heard that there are also some farms here where you can pick some berries but somebody told me it's so much cheaper to buy them from Aldi's instead of going through all the trouble of picking them yourself. Thankfully, Michigan blueberries were also on sale at Aldi's (and same price as the ones in MI) so I got myelf what is the equivalent of at least 2 buckets - perhaps even 3 so now I have some blueberries to enjoy for fall and winter!

As for the Michigan blueberries I saw on the deli shop, they were certainly put to good....err....sweet use. They turned a perfectly moist and yummy Blueberry Pecan Coffee Cake. I asked my hubby who was attending an elder's meeting that day to bring the cake to the meeting so he can share the cake with them. I am happy to report that they totally enjoyed the cake. One of them even approached me at church last Sunday and told me he really loved the cake and he could have eaten the entire dish himself! Ha! I take that as a compliment. Hope you get to try it and enjoy it as much as he did or we did. :)

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose Flour 
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (rolled into the 2 Tablespoons flour)
2 large Eggs
1 cup / 8 oz sour cream (you may sub plain or Greek (plain) yogurt)
1/2 cup unsalted Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped Pecans (for topping)
Cinnamon Sugar*

*I use a prepared Cinnamon Sugar grinder for this but you can easily just combine some ground cinnamon and sugar to make this.

For the filling (or use fully as topping instead)

1/2 cup all purpose Flour
1/4 cup brown Sugar
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/3 cup cold Butter
1/2 cup chopped Pecans


Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x11.5 baking dish.

Make the filling by cutting the cold butter into the flour, cinnamon and sugar until crumbly. Stir in the nuts. Set aside. You can use this as as topping (instead of filling), too. I have done both as the photos show.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

Roll the blueberries in 2 tablespoons flour until coated. 

In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sour cream just until combined. Pour in the melted butter and the vanilla and mix.

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. It will be a thick batter. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon half of the batter onto the prepared baking dish. Distribute the filling all over the batter.
Spread the remaining batter on top and sprinkle the top liberally with cinnamon sugar and the chopped pecans. Gently press the pecan pieces on top. 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45-55 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Oven heat and temperatures vary so adjust accordingly.

Cool completely before slicing. Serve on its own or with some sweetened whipped cream or plain pouring cream, if desired. Perfect with coffee or your favorite tea.