Half Assed Kitchen

Blackberry sour cream coffee cake

 
We put one blackberry recipe a year on Half Assed Kitchen. That's because we do an annual late summer foraging for blackberries, then come home and bake our little hearts out. We always make pie. We have to. Then we'll often mix it up and try cobbler. Or in this case, coffee cake.

This particular recipe is super basic and simple. It makes a nice cake perfect for pairing with your morning joe or afternoon tea.

Effort required: Truly 1/2 assed (3/4 assed if you pick the berries yourself)

Here's what you need and how you do it

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen thawed

For glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons (or so) water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together butter and sugar with a mixer or whisk. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, mix baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Add to butter/sugar/egg mixture.

Fold in berries.

Grease cake, bundt, or bread pan. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 35 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

When cake has finished baking and mostly cooled, mix together powdered sugar and water and drizzle over the top of coffee cake.

Serve warm.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Caponata recipe and Alouette cheese giveaway!

Update: the winners of the Alouette cheese are Jennifer Jo from Mama's Minutia (a great little blog that I don't know why isn't as big as The Pioneer Woman's), and Vicki! Thanks for playing!

We're currently on a two-week family road trip going through Washington, Oregon and Northern California. While driving yesterday, we started fantasizing about what our favorite cheese might be. Bleu? Gouda? Feta?

And then we remembered that we've been meaning to post an Alouette giveaway. So, on a rare three-night Oregon coast stop, we went to the Alouette site and found this scrumptious looking caponata recipe. Caponata is a Sicilian vegetable salad made of chopped, fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar and capers in a sweet and sour sauce. (Whew! Thank you wikipedia!)

It looks perfect for a light, warm weather dinner or an any time appetizer.

No effort rating, since we haven't tried this one. We're guessing, with the chopping, it sits on the fence between 1/2 and 3/4 assed.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped in 1/2-inch dice

1 Tablespoon pine nuts

1 each medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (to yield 2 cups)

1/4 cup green olives, chopped

1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

1 ounce balsamic vinegar

1 package Alouette^® Feta Mediterranean

In a large 12 to 14-inch saute pan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onions, pine nuts, and saute for 4 to 5 minutes until softened.

Add the eggplant continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Add the thyme, chopped tomato, olives, and balsamic vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Fold in Alouette^® Feta Mediterranean Crumbles.

Serve the caponata spooned on crostini or in middle of table with crostini on side to allow guests to help themselves.

Now for the fun part. Leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite kind of cheese by 10pm Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, August 5th to qualify to win one of two sets of three Alouette cheese coupons. That's $21 worth of FREE CHEESE, people. For two of you.

We'll choose the winner at random and make our announcement on Saturday, August 6th, when we will, at long last, be home!