This post was originally published here on March 21, 2014. I’ve since adjusted the ingredients and recipe instructions slightly. I’ve updated the text and photographs to reflect those changes.
I’ve had a few sporadic baking projects over the last couple of months. But I’ve mostly taken a bit of a hiatus after all the Holiday baking madness.
But now that it’s Spring (or trying to be Spring at least!), my interest in baking has been renewed. I love baking with bright Spring flavors and ingredients, like rhubarb, berries, lemon, etc.
This Blackberry and Almond Yogurt Coffee Cake was the perfect recipe to get me back in the mood for baking. I always associated coffee cakes with Spring brunches and Holidays, like Easter and Mother’s Day.
Now, I don’t want to just gloss over the cake part of this Blackberry and Almond Yogurt Coffee Cake, but I think we all know the star(s) of this show are the streusel topping and the blackberries. This streusel topping is made with flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter and LOTS of sliced almonds. Don’t skimp on the almonds! It will take a couple of minutes of working the streusel ingredients together with a fork to achieve the quintessential crumbly texture. And if you want even more pronounced “crumbs”, you can use your fingers to pinch and squeeze the mixture together, creating even larger pieces. I love the big pieces! I have to resist picking them off the finished coffee cake and popping them straight in my mouth!
The blackberry filling is made with fresh blackberries, water, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest. It takes just a couple minutes of cooking on the stove top for the blackberries to breakdown and for the filling to thicken. The cooled filling gets spread over half the cake batter, then covered with the remaining cake batter and streusel, so you get a nice ribbon of blackberry filling running throughout every single piece of this cake. I like this method better than simply mixing in whole blackberries, because it results in a move even distribution of fruit throughout the entire cake.
To get the prettiest slices, it’s best to let this cake cool completely before slicing. It’s a fairly tall cake, so this can take at least a couple of hours. If you want to serve it for brunch, I recommend baking it the night before.
Cheers,
Liz
Blackberry and Almond Yogurt Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Blackberry Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups blackberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
For the Streusel Topping:
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- About 1/2 cup blackberries, cut in half if large
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature (I used 5% fat)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Make the blackberry filling. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients for the filling. Cook, stirring frequently and using a spoon to help crush the blackberries, until the mixture has thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit inside the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Then coat the parchment paper and the sides of the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Dust with a thin layer of flour. Set aside.
- Make the streusel topping. Add the almonds, flour, sugars and salt to a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter, tossing the mixture with a fork as you do, until the dry ingredients are moistened and “crumbs” start to form. Set aside.
- Make the cake batter. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Then add the yogurt and extract, mixing until well combined. Scrap down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed just until no more white streaks remain. The batter will be thick.
- Spread about half the cake batter into your prepared springform pan. I find an offset spatula works best here. Then spread the blackberry filling on top, leaving a 1/2-inch boarder around the edge. Top with the remaining cake batter and spread into an even layer. Don’t worry if some of the blackberry filling gets mixed into the top cake layer.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top cake layer and then scatter the remaining blackberries on top. If you want larger/chunkier “crumbs” you can squeeze together handfuls of the streusel topping before sprinkling it on top of the cake. Transfer the cake to your pre-heated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The streusel topping and edges should be golden brown.
- Remove the cake from your oven and set on a wire rack to completely cool. Once cooled to room temperature, run a knife around the inside edge of the springform pan and release and remove the ring. Use the parchment paper circle to help you slide the cake onto a cutting board. Slice and serve.
- This cake is best eaten within 1-2 days of baking. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Bakers Royale.
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Oh my goodness, Liz!! This looks fabulous! I’m always down for a good coffee cake and blackberry?? Oh you know I have plenty around here come… say, August (bucket loads!) so as soon as they come into season, I’ll whip this out! Mouthwatering and delicious, Liz!!
Oh man, will I be missing all those free blackberries. I used to pick BUCKETS of them. So fun!
This is an amazing looking coffee cake! It’s going on my must try list!
That’s great to hear, Thao. Let me know when you try it out!
I can’t wait until the flowers are blooming here. It won’t be long. I love blackberries and almonds and coffee cake. I think it’s safe to say I’d love this recipe!
You would definitely love it, Laura! 🙂
I made this with a combination of blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries for Easter brunch yesterday, and it was a HUGE hit. great recipe, thanks for sharing!
That’s so awesome to hear, Kelly. And glad to know you mixed up the fruits and it was great. I’m definitely going to do that next time. You’ve inspired me! 🙂
This looks so delicious! I’m always looking for delicious coffee cake and I’m definitely going to try this one. Perfect for Spring!
Thanks, Jessica! It really is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it!
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Okay this looks seriously amazing!! I love when coffee cakes have nuts on top and the blackberries are so perfectly swirled through the middle! Bravo!
Thanks, girl!
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Where can I buy the almond meal? Is there a substition I can use? I am dying to try this recipe!
Almond meal/almond flour can be found in most large grocery stores chains and in smaller specialty markets too. It is located either in the baking aisle with the other flours, or sometimes in the healthy food aisle. If you can’t find it, you can process almonds at home in your food processor until they are finely ground into a course meal.
This cake was delicious 😋. The blackberry sauce was perfect with the moist cake. The topping had the perfect combination of sweet and nutty! I did use almond flour-not sure how different that is than meal.
So glad you loved it, Stefanie! And almond meal is usually a tiny bit more course than almond flour. But I’ve had success interchanging them in the past. Glad it worked for you, too!