Baking with fresh summer berries can be tricky. When you get your hands on a bunch of ripe strawberries, blueberries or raspberries, you want to make the most of them. Berries at their best—when they're at their peak ripeness and bursting with juice—are heavenly all on their own.
Unfortunately, the problem with using those wine-ripened beans for baking is that it can sometimes dull their bright flavors or leave baked goods soggy.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
As we developed our latest lineup of fruit strikers Coffee Cake Recipe of the YearSenior recipe developer Molly Marzalek-Kelly was determined to solve this problem: She wanted to make sure the berries shone as brightly in these cakes as they did. To do this, she incorporated some thoughtful and deliberate techniques that maximize flavor and make use of precious (usually expensive) berries.
Outcome? Coffee cakes that really make summer fruits shine, each celebrating the quintessential berries of the season: raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. So put away your pie pans now – this summer, the best way to bake with berries is in coffee cake.
Coffee cake with raspberry cream: berries three ways
The first is ours Coffee cake with raspberry cream, which was born out of a nostalgic desire for a crumb-covered raspberry Danish similar to that found in many grocery stores. Molly took what she loved most about that beloved cake and injected it into this coffee cake recipe.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
To maximize the fresh taste of raspberries, Molly uses the fruit in three ways. First, the berries are used to make a quick stovetop jam that's brightened with a touch of lemon juice. It sits on top of a layer of yogurt sauce or Greek yogurt-enriched pastry dough.
Whole raspberries are also gently folded into a layer of sweetened cream cheese that is rolled on top of raspberry jam. The delicate raspberries break down a bit when combined with the cream cheese, staining the filling pink: Not only does it look gorgeous, but it also creates pockets of fresh raspberry flavor.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
In addition to fresh fruit, Molly also turned to freeze-dried raspberries for the finishing touch. She dusts them with confectioners' sugar, then dusts the cake with the sweet (pink!) topping.
Strawberry Coffee Cake with Matcha Filling: Macerated berries enhance the flavor
Next cake, Strawberry Coffee Cake with Matcha Filling, combines the floral flavor of strawberry with the earthy aroma of matcha (green tea) powder. To enhance the natural flavor of the berries, they are diced and tossed with sugar, a process called maceration. The sugar draws the water out of the berries, creating a syrupy, flavorful liquid that coats the berries. Although it's a quick process that only takes 10 minutes at most, macerating the berries instead of tossing them right into the batter intensifies the flavor.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
When she developed this recipe, Molly made another deliberate choice that enhances the flavor of the strawberries: She placed the macerated berries on top of the cake batter instead of folding the berries into it. Because they are only slightly hidden under the crumb topping layer, the berries ripen as the coffee cake bakes, concentrating their sweetness and preventing them from creating soggy pockets within the cake. The result is a perfectly textured cake filled with tangy and tangy strawberries.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
Think we're done with strawberries? Not yet! Remember that strawberry-flavored juice that forms during the maceration process? Set some aside to use as a liquid in the strawberry glaze to top the cake, adding a light pink hue and subtle berry flavor. (You can also choose a matcha glaze, which is a vibrant green but still uses the same strawberry juice to maximize the berry flavor.)
Sweet Blueberry Corn Coffee Cake: Fresh blueberries that stay put
As soon as blueberry season hits in New England, many bakers start making pies, muffins and jams. But this year, the best way to make your blueberries shine is Blueberry Corn Coffee Cake. It's like the best blueberry muffin you've ever combined with the flavors of a bowl of cornflakes.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
The good news is that blueberries have just the right moisture content so they don't leave behind soggy, empty pockets in cakes when baked. The problem is that fresh berries often sink right to the bottom of the cake batter, creating an uneven distribution and ultimately a layer of luscious fruit on the bottom.
Molly solved that problem with this Blueberry Corn Coffee Cake. Because she uses masa harina in the batter—which adds the cornflake-like flavor—and allows it to hydrate and thicken before mixing, the cake batter is firm enough to keep the blueberries suspended evenly once mixed. (Pre-hydrating the masa harina has the added benefit of ensuring a moist and tender cake as well.)
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
This summer, take a tip from Molly and set aside some of your fresh berries to bake these coffee cake recipes. Molly promises they are relatively easy and definitely unique. “I really hope that bakers are open to trying these new flavors,” she says, “and that everyone is able to find one they can call their favorite.”
Looking for more delicious renditions of coffee cake? See all variations of our Coffee Cake Recipe of the Yearthen bake them all and let us know which one you like best in the comments below.
Cover photo by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
