recipe-a-week #26: JOC's Blueberry Crunch Coffeecake

Somewhere in there, buried under the clouds of whipped cream (be still my heart! oh wait, it will be still if I keep eating so much whipped cream) and freshly picked organic blueberries from my aunt and uncle's farm, is a piece of cake. Heavenly, perfectly-crumbly coffee cake. The recipe is from The Joy of Cooking, and here it is, minus the extra info, and with my comments in parentheses:

Blueberry Crunch Coffeecake
from The Joy of Cooking

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat to 350. Grease a 6 cup loaf pan. (I didn't grease mine well enough and the topping came apart and made a mess.) Combine and sprinkle in the bottom of the pan:
1/4 cup sliced almonds (I sliced whole almonds with a knife. It was tricky!)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Whisk together thoroughly in large bowl:
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (I skipped the salt and used salted butter)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Add:
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Cut in the butter with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Do not allow the butter to melt or form a paste. (I'm not sure what you're supposed to do if it does. Panic? Call the police? Stick it in the fridge, maybe?) Whisk together in another bowl:
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Pour over the flour mixture and stir until about three-quarters of the dry ingredients are moistened. Add:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Fold just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the berries are distributed. Spoon the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean; 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes. Loosen edges and invert onto the rack. Serve warm or, for the crunchiest topping, let cool before serving.

This was SO delicious. Was, as in, I barely got that picture of the last piece tonight, and we made it last night when we had some friends over. So now you have something to do with a few of those blueberries.

It's been a week since I've posted - what is the world coming to? This whole taking-summer-seriously thing is great. We have been playing hard and having a fantastic time. The painters came today, so major progress is being made on the house-painting front. No more pee-yellow and poo-brown paint! Exciting times.

Most exciting of all, I'm an aunt! My sister had a baby girl last week, and she's terribly cute. I'll be going to visit them next week, and I can't wait to deliver some auntie kisses and goodies from Frenchy's for her. Surely I'll post again before I leave, though... maybe.

Happy Thursday!