This Blackberry coffee cake is a moist cake studded with juicy blackberries, topped with a crunchy pecan crumble and drizzled with a tart lemon glaze. What could be more delicious on a lazy morning than a slice of this coffee cake?
To me, it is not Summer if I don’t have as many blackberries as I can eat. I’m always looking for new recipes to use with my favorite fruit. I decided to try modifying a crumb cake recipe I love, and this blackberry coffee cake turned out absolutely delicious. I always get lost in childhood memories whenever I bite into anything blackberry. I’ve done several posts on what this fantastic fruit means to me and how I grew up eating blackberries as much as I could.
This blackberry coffee cake is very quick to make. I always try and come up with coffee cake recipes that don’t take hours, and is anything complicated. To me a coffeecake should be something that you can whip up quickly in the morning so the baker can enjoy their morning with everyone else, not getting up at the crack of dawn to have something ready. This coffeecake is ready to bake by the time the oven has heated up.
I thought about cooking the blackberries into a jam and straining out the seeds before swirling it into the batter. I’ve got several friends, particularly who grew up out here on the east coast who have a problem with blackberries and are afraid of all the seeds. They never learned how to eat them and how you don’t bite down onto the seeds. I was talking to a fellow Californian on how I find that so weird. She laughed and said that the thought had never occurred to her either, I guess it all is about where you grew up! I decided not to do that as it would add even more sugar to this cake and I think it’s great as it is, seeds and all.
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup butter melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon reserved
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- the reserved 1 tablespoon of sour cream
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Preheat the oven to 350° Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan. (or use a floured baking spray)
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Combine the flour, cinnamon, sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and mix to combine.
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Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.
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Stir in the pecans.
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Set aside.
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Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
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In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until well blended.
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Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the egg and sour cream mixture.
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Fold together gently until evenly combined and no streaks remain. Be careful not to over mix.
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Using a spatula, spread the batter into the prepared pan in an even layer.
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Sprinkle the top of the batter with the blackberries.
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Swirl into the batter some of the blackberries to distribute them a bit. It doesn’t have to be even.
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Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the berries.
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Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean 40-50 minutes.
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Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes.
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Remove the sides of the springform pan.
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Combine the powdered sugar, the lemon juice and the reserved 1 tablespoon sour cream
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Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.
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Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.
