A tender blackberry coffee cake topped with a drizzle of sweetly spiced tahini is equally suited for weekend brunch or everyday baking. Get creative with the fruit, zest, and spice to bake up your own unique coffee cake.
The last day of August is always bittersweet. Summer is essentially over, but fall is here. School is back in session, but football season (i.e. tailgating recipe season) is ready to kickoff. I must say so long to an abundance of summer produce, but baking with pumpkin and winter squash isn’t so bad.
One thing that is all sweet and no bitter on this last day of August is today’s celebration of my blog friend Erin. She will welcome a second baby girl into her family soon, and a few other bloggers who think Erin is as sweet as I do are throwing a virtual baby shower today in her honor. (You can find links to their sweet recipes at the end of this post!)
I’m not entirely sure how I met Erin, but I can say without hesitation that my blog is better because of the work she’s put in to support our blogging community. She’s hosted a number of blog collaborations, organized a group to help us support each other’s content, left countless kind comments, and re-tweeted my content so consistently that I’m actually contemplating a return to Twitter. Maybe. Perhaps. We’ll see.
A classic coffee cake studded with blackberries and topped not with cinnamon and sugar or streusel, but with sweetly spiced tahini, is my contribution to this party. Coffee cake is made to share, and not only does this one taste great, you can customize the fruit, citrus zest, and spices you use to find your ideal flavor.
This coffee cake features flavors of lemon and cardamom with blackberries, but the flavor combinations are up to you. Bon Appetit suggests ginger and fig also pair well with lemon zest. Other ideas include baking with cherries, cinnamon, and lime zest or pairing blueberries with nutmeg and orange zest.
Keep this delicious recipe around for the next time you crave a piece of coffee cake or need something delicious to bake for the sweet new mom in your life. Congratulations Erin! Here’s to hoping you enjoy all the sweet things to come.
A Sweet Baby Shower Menu
Moscato Cupcakes from A Joyfully Mad Kitchen
Lemon Lime Cake from I Dig Pinterest
Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip from A Savory Feast
Chocolate Chunk Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches from Ciao Chow Bambina
Ginger Carrot Tartlets from Savory Spin
Mini Six-Inch Strawberry Cake from The Emotional Baker
Blackberry Peach Bourbon Smash from The Crumby Kitchen
Butter Mints from Pastry Chef Online
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Coconut Whip from Crumb Top Baking
S’mores Rice Krispy Treats from Feast + West
Blackberry Coffee Cake
Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
For the coffee cake
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 lemon, zested
2 cups blackberries
For the topping
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center of these dry ingredients and add the eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, and lemon zest.
- Stir to combine, mixing until smooth, then fold in the blackberries.
- Pour the batter into a lightly-oiled 8 x 8 baking dish.
- Mix the tahini with a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Drizzle this evenly over coffee cake batter.
- Stir the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar together with the ground cardamom and sprinkle this over the top of the tahini.
- Now pop the baking dish into the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 50–60 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean when done.
Notes
There are plenty of substitution options here if you need them.
- You can use plain full-fat yogurt if you prefer it over Greek yogurt.
- Try lime or orange zest in place of lemon. No matter what citrus you choose, add about 2 teaspoons of zest.
- Fresh or frozen blackberries are fine for this recipe, just make sure any frozen berries you use are fully thawed.
- Last but not least, if you don't like cardamom, sub ground cinnamon instead.
I love the idea of a fruity coffee cake! This sounds scrumptious.
I am loving this combination of flavors! I could sit in a corner and eat this whole cake by myself! 🙂
LeAndra, you’re too sweet! Thank you for your kind words and this awesome, flavorful coffee cake! I wish I had a slice of it this morning (and probably every morning because coffee cake makes me oh-so-happy.)
Thank you so much for participating in this surprise shower to welcome Baby Speckle—she and I feel so loved and supported! Now if there was a way for us to share all this food via the Internet so I could have a bite of everything, that would be amazing…