Overnight blueberry streusel coffee cake

 

I have this memory of there being some place or cookbook called Blueberry Mornings. Maybe in Two Harbors? Can't find any reference to it, and it would make a great cookbook title. 

It's also a good describer of our week Up North, which started and ended with blueberry-stuffed breakfasts. I hadn't exactly intended that when I set out to prep cabin breakfasts, but it being blueberry season both in my yard and at the farmers market, it just happened that way.

I made this recipe to have in the morning before our long, non-stop, intensely socially distant drive, and to reheat up on the final day of our stay so we had time for a walk down Croftville Road before leaving. I'm a fan of sour cream coffee cakes and overnight cakes, so I went looking for a recipe that incorporated blueberries. The touch of whole wheat intrigued me to try this one.

Overnight blueberry streusel coffee cake

Adapted from Webmd.com, which naturally used low-fat versions of everything.

Ingredients

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons cake flour, divided

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or more cake flour)

1¼ cups sugar, divided

2½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons canola oil

5 tablespoons sour cream, divided

¾ cup milk

1 large egg

2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

Method

Grease a 9-by-9 pan.

Mix 1 cup cake flour, whole wheat pastry flour, ¾ cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix oil, 3 tablespoons sour cream, milk and egg. Beat wet ingredients into dry for about 30 seconds until blended. Fold in blueberries and spread into prepared pan.

In a separate bowl, combine 6 tablespoons cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, butter and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Mix with pastry blender until blended into crumbs. Sprinkle over cake batter. Cover dish tightly and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375, uncover cake and bake about 45 minutes until cake tests done.

Rating: The whole wheat doesn't drag down the texture too much, so it's still pretty moist. It was perfectly fine, but not quite as sumptuous as cakes heavier on the sour cream side, so I might keep looking for my perfect overnight blueberry coffee cake. But waking up to this at bookends of the vacation was just fine.

Also more than fine: blueberry turnovers, and I made one of my favorite scones with blueberries instead of cranberries. Fabulous. Both of them bake straight from the freezer so you don't have to decide/remember to thaw the night before. All that and a view of kayakers, paddle boarders, hummingbirds at the feeder and the odd biplane. And time for that walk:

 

Cheese scones and Italiano rolls

The only thing possibly better than homemade bread fresh from the oven with butter on it? Homemade bread products with cheese built in.

These recipes run the gamut from the super fast, to the really pretty reasonably fast, to one suggestion with a serious time commitment. But they are all so very tasty you'll wonder where they've been all your life.



Cheddar-Parmesan scones

Adapted from “Simply Scones” by Leslie Weiner and Barbara Albright, my go-to source for scone recipes sweet or savory. Now that we're working from home, you can whip these up in the time it takes for your spouse's noon hour run.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Generous dash of cayenne pepper

1½ cup grated Cheddar cheese

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes

⅓ cup milk

2 eggs

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne. Mix in cheeses. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix milk with eggs and stir into flour-butter mixture, just until combined.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board shape into a circle about 8 inches around. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until golden and a cake tester comes out mostly clean.

Rating: Delightful. Nice texture, moist but not at all dense. Excellent carrier for a number of cheese options.

Pan rolls Italiano

Adapted from the Red Star “Centennial Bread Sampler.” This recipe was called One Hour Pan Rolls Italiano, but I’ve never made it in that little time, and I’ve always had better results if I at least doubled the rising time compared to the original recipe. But it’s still a pretty fast fix as yeast rolls go, and a huge return on flavor vs. time investment.

Ingredients

1 cup milk

½ cup water

4 tablespoons butter, divided

3½ to 4½ cups flour

2 packages dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons garlic salt (or 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon garlic powder)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 egg, lightly beaten

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Method

Preheat oven on lowest setting for 1 minute and then turn it off while you prepare the dough.

In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and 2 tablespoons butter until it reaches 120 to 130 degrees. Butter does not need to melt, and keep a close eye on it since otherwise you’re going to have to waste time letting it cool down. Grease a large bowl for rising the bread.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine 1½ cup flour, yeast, sugar, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. When liquids are warmed, add to flour mixture along with egg. Mix on low speed until moistened, then at medium speed for 3 minutes. By hand, stir in ½ cup cheese and enough flour to make a firm dough. Avoid adding more flour than needed, reserving ½ cup in case you need it for kneading.

Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes or so. This is where that last ½ cup flour may come in to play.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in the still warm oven for at least 15 minutes, and preferably 30. Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Set remaining ¼ cup Parmesan into a small bowl. Grease a 13-by-9 pan.

Punch down dough. Divide dough into fourths, and then each fourth into 4 parts. (The recipe makes 16.) Shape each ball of dough into smooth ball. Dip top of rolls in melted butter and then into Parmesan. Place rolls into prepared pan. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 and bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. 

Rating: These are so freaking good it's amazing.I've been making these for years and never tire of them. 

 
Savory cinnamon rolls
Also worth trying in the savory bread department: Savory "cinnamon" rolls. I tried this one from the Candid Appetite. This is one for when you've got plenty of time. I found I needed to allow far more rising time than the recipe suggested, although if you have a proofing box it could speed things up. I need to work on perfecting it before posting about it, but it's a really great idea:
https://www.thecandidappetite.com/garlic-bread-cinnamon-rolls/