My absolute favorite fruit to eat in the summertime is a ripe peach (or nectarine – to me they are interchangeable!). They are so sweet and juicy – I just can’t get enough of them. And berries are a close second, so when I saw a recipe for a peachberry buckle on King Arthur Flour, I just knew I had to make it! They made up a word that fuses together my two favorite fruits, how could I not try it?! If you are wondering what the heck a buckle is, it is just a coffee cake made with fresh fruit. This version has a very light and fluffy cake layered with sweet peaches and berries and topped with a delicious cinnamon crumb topping. It is heavenly! The fruit keeps the cake moist and gives it an amazing flavor. You can use any kind of berry that you want. I used blueberries in mine and it turned out really well. The crumb topping has a splash of almond extract – you can omit this if you aren’t a fan of that flavor. This buckle / coffee cake is a perfect way to highlight summer’s delicious fruits! …
Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf
Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf tastes amazing but is light thanks to yogurt, applesauce, and some whole wheat flour. A healthy but delicious way to enjoy summer’s best flavors!
I just discovered the new-ish Whole Foods on the Upper East Side. It opened in August, and I can’t believe it took me this long to go – I think I subconsciously knew that it would mean trouble for me. I spent an hour in there the other day just filling my cart with things that we really don’t need but can’t live without (like these all-natural candy bars, which are really just a Snickers bar pretending to be healthy). Everyone always complains about how overpriced Whole Foods is, so I was surprised when a pint of blueberries was on sale for $1.99! I have a skewed view of grocery prices due to living in NYC, but I’m pretty sure that is a great price for berries anywhere you live! So clearly I had to bake something using blueberries. Since summer is here and I was trying to lighten things up a bit, I decided to make a blueberry lemon bread, using yogurt and applesauce to replace some of the fat. I also snuck some whole wheat flour in there for some added nutrition. The results were fantastic! The bread was so moist with the perfect amount of sweetness, and I loved the combo of the lemon and blueberry flavors – it tastes like summer! …
Blueberry and Jam Buttermilk Coffee Cake
This weekend, I managed to bake something that TheBetterHalf liked more than I did! Now don’t get me wrong, I loved this coffee cake – as long as butter and sugar are the two main ingredients in a recipe, I am a fan – but TheBetterHalf is a little more discerning. So when he started raving about this cake, I knew it must be good! I had some leftover buttermilk to use (this seems to be a theme in my kitchen, always using up leftover buttermilk like here and here) so I decided to whip up a coffee cake for breakfast on Saturday morning. In just about an hour, I had this delicious cake ready for us to devour! It was so good – very moist, and studded with so many fresh blueberries! The glaze is optional on this cake. I thought the cake was sweet enough without it. TheBetterHalf really liked the addition of the glaze. So if you are in a glaze mood, go for it! And if not, this cake would be delicious on its own. You could top it with a dusting of powdered sugar for a little decoration. …
Blueberry Muffins
I love going to the market and seeing what produce is fresh. And now that spring is here, all the fruits and veggies are starting to look and taste so much better! This past week the blueberries looked amazing, so I decided to make blueberry muffins for breakfast. Muffins are such an easy breakfast to make – one hour and you have a delicious freshly baked meal! There are so many great muffin recipes out there, I always have a hard time deciding which one to make.
I went with this King Arthur Flour recipe because the reviews were so amazing, and because I happened to have some White Whole Wheat flour in my pantry. I always like to sneak in some whole wheat when I can. I try to trick TheBetterHalf, but he can usually tell when wheat is involved – much too healthy for him! I think the white whole wheat flour works very well in this muffin though. The muffins were light and fluffy, with just a bit of wheat flavor. The almond extract really adds something special, although be careful not to put in more than 1/4 tsp – a little of that goes a long way! The original directions say that the cinnamon sugar on top is optional, but really, who wouldn’t want cinnamon sugar on top of their muffin?! So in my recipe, it is not optional :).
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