Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

   

Lee really likes coffee cake.  And he really likes blueberries.  I decided to do some research on combining the two.  I love lemon, so let's just please both of us.  During my research I found one with a cream cheese filling.  Why not?

Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Coffee Cake

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
lemon zest from one lemon
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 cups blueberries, thaw and drain if they are frozen

Cream Cheese Filling

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened  I use Philadelphia
1 egg
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice

One of the reasons I decided to use the cream cheese is I bought too much of it at Christmas.  And then every package was opened by a different person and a bit was used.  I needed to use some up.

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Whew!!!


   

Heat oven to 375.  Grease a 9 inch springform pan or a 9 inch square pan.  Set aside.

   

Wash a lemon and zest it.  Make sure you don't zest through to the bitter white part.  Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl and save it for later.  You will get about 2 Tablespoons.


   

I have a Kitchen Aid mixer that is great for cream cheese.  Use whatever electric mixer you own.  Beat the cream cheese until it is soft and fluffy. 

   

Scrape it down and add the egg and sugar.  Add 1 Tablespoon of the lemon juice and the flour.  Save the rest of the lemon juice for the glaze.  Mix until it is creamy.  Scrape it into a bowl and set it aside.  Wash the bowl to reuse it.


   

After all that, NOW you start the coffee cake.

Cream the softened butter.  Add the eggs and the sugar.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Lots of smooth and creamy going on here.  Add the vanilla extract, milk and lemon zest.  Mix carefully or the milk will go flying.

   

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add the flour one cup at a time.  Fold in the blueberries.  Set aside.

   

Get out a medium bowl for the streusel topping.  I could have used the mixer, but I didn't want to wash it AGAIN.  Well, I did wash it , but then I put it away.

   

Cream the softened butter with the flour, sugar and cinnamon.

   

Now you get to assemble the coffee cake.  Scrape about 3/4 of the coffee cake mixture into the pan.  Spread the cream cheese filling to within an inch of the edge. 

   

Cover it with the rest of the coffee cake batter.  I used my very clean fingers to drop small bits of the streusel on top of the cake.

   

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes.  Test it with a toothpick.  Make sure it comes out clean before you remove the cake from the oven.  I ended up needing just a tad more than 50 minutes.

Set the cake on a rack to cool.  When it is mostly cool, loosen the edges of the cake with a plastic utensil.  Open the springform and remove it. 

   

Now make the glaze.  It is super easy.  Put 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice.  Stir until it is kind of runny.  I ended up heating mine for 10 seconds in the microwave to make it drizzle better without thinning it too much.

   

Drizzle the glaze over the whole coffee cake.  Let the glaze drip over the edge.

The streusel topping gave a crunchy sweetness to the moist coffee cake.  The cream cheese added some creaminess with a touch of sour.  The blueberries gave the cake a sweet, moist pop. Yum.

 

You could make this cake with out the cream cheese filling.  But I am glad I used it!