This tasted like a blueberry muffin that donned a fancy miso crumble coat and went out for high tea. Umami and sweet, and ready for the weekend! # 214: Blueberry Miso Coffee Cake

Sometimes the stars align and I have all the ingredients on hand when a fun recipe crosses my path. Pretty sure that means I have to make it! Plus, I’ve been trying to use up my lingering bag of whole wheat flour all year and there’s only so many dinner rolls one can eat.

Sweet bursts of blueberry, a soft crumb and a nutty rich crumble topping that caramelized a little bit on the edges. Mary Berry would be so proud that the fruit was evenly suspended and not all hanging out at the bottom of the cake. (I feel like I have to shout out the dense whole wheat flour batter for that magic trick.)

Flour tangent: Whole wheat baked goods often get sidelined for their texture, but it actually plays in this cake’s favor. Unlike all-purpose flour, whole wheat uses all three parts of the wheat kernel (bran, germ and endosperm) and has a higher protein content. According to several flour-comparison articles I read through, leaving the bran and germ in the mix inhibits gluten formation.

This makes sense, as none of the whole wheat bread loaves I’ve made rose to great heights… I’ve also read that the reason you don’t want to over-mix shortbread dough is to stop gluten strands from forming and making the result tough and chewy. So less gluten should result in a shorter baked good with a softer crumb. Ta-daa! Perfect coffee cake texture.

Coffee cake sits solidly in that middle ground between breakfast and dessert. My mom and I used to get this delicious blackberry coffee cake at a neighborhood cafe (I miss Jay’s!) but it felt like eating a cupcake for breakfast. The sugar crash was so real. I’m not going to attempt to say this coffee cake has any less sugar, but the miso adds a subtle savory note that changes the whole vibe!

The recipe calls for white miso, which is very mellow. (Psst – it’s great in chocolate chip cookies too.)

Let’s get this show on the road!

Lil sparkly gems.

Why are they not called purpleberries? Look at that gorgeous color!

Another reason I love crumbles so much – you gotta use your hands! You’re creating a craggy mountain range on top of your cake.

Classic Weezie lesson: use the leftover butter in the cube wrapper to prep your pans. It’s basically pre-buttered wax paper! (Yes, I know it’s a nonstick pan, and yes I still lightly butter them. They’ve been known to take unauthorized bites out of the bottom of my cakes…)

Voila! I normally make coffee cakes in square pans but there’s something very satisfying about a round cake.

Brown sugar caramelized edges are where it’s at!!

Wish I was as stylish as this slice of cake.

Happy munching!

Recipe from: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bonappetit.com/recipe/blueberry-miso-crumb-cake/amp