May 31, 2011

Low-Fat Blueberry Coffee Cake

I use the Whole Foods Recipes app for my iPhone a lot. The format is great. You can search for foods on hand, or in a certain category (vegan, slow cooker, quick and simple...) which I find is a huge help for making quick meal plans. I have a couple other apps for recipes but this one I use the most. I keep recipes bookmarked in my "Favorites" tab and have a fairly dynamic collection. I finally made the time to try this recipe recently and am very happy with the results. 

I happened to be babysitting the day I decided to make this coffee cake and finished up the prep with a one-and-a-half-year-old on my hip. He seemed mesmerized by my one handed mixing, all the while educating him on each ingredient I was using. He also liked to peek in the oven window with me to check the progress. Thankfully, amid the distractions of the wee one running amuck in a non-baby-proof house, the coffee cake turned out stunning. 

The cake has a much lighter crumb topping than most coffee cakes (remember it's low-fat) but the almonds help give texture. There is hardly any fat in the recipe, so the moisture comes from fat free yogurt. Michael says you can tell it's low-fat but he is also not a big fan of blueberries. The girls in my office liked it a lot and I enjoyed it as well. I'd definitely make it again and recommend serving it to guests. It's fast to put together and friendly for your summer bikini body. 


Low-Fat Blueberry Coffee Cake
from Whole Foods Recipes

2 C fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries divided
1 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C plain non-fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 C sliced almonds

for the topping:
2 T whole wheat flour
1/4 C brown sugar
2 T butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray and set aside. Mix together the ingredients for the topping in a small bowl with your fingers until it you have pea sized clumps.

Whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Combine yogurt, eggs, and vanilla in another small bowl and add to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Add half the blueberries and smooth into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter and add the remaining blueberries. Top with the almonds. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and remove the sides of the pan. Let cool another 20 minutes before serving. Store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.

You can also use a standard 12 tin muffin cup with liners instead of the springform pan. Reduce the baking time to 22-25 minutes.

May 1, 2011

There's No Cake In Cheesecake

This past week we celebrated our friend Rebecca's birthday. She doesn't like cake. I have known her for four years now, and it still amazes me. How do you not like cake? We are going to keep asking!

So, instead of cake, I made her a cheesecake. It happened to work out well since cheesecake was one of the monthly recipes for the Easy Bake cOven for April. I made a lemon base cheesecake, and instead of topping it with the lemon glaze, I used fresh strawberries and kiwi.

It's been a long time since I made cheesecake! I also had never made a cheesecake without the water-bath technique. I decided to go ahead and try it without since the recipe said to... and the top cracked. Thankfully, I could cover it up with pretty fruit. No one seemed to care, and the cheesecake turned out well. I'd make this again, and it would be fun to try with the lemon glaze. I hope you enjoyed your birthday un-cake Rebecca!

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