Tasty Surprises

I love surprises. Ok, no I don't. I am a planner, but this kind of surprise is always welcome. One of John's coworkers brought him two pints of black raspberries yesterday. YEH!  

John wanted muffins. I wanted cake....Tony Horton (p90x) wanted us to have neither. So, as with all good marriages, we had to come to a compromise. Black Raspberry Coffee Cake. Cake that tastes a lot like a muffin.Sorry Tony, but you are out-voted. We'll do an extra workout to make up for it. 


ahahahah... That was a lie.

(If you are wondering why I cropped the picture this way; the cake is sitting beside the kitchen sink. My sink was full of dirty dishes. I like to keep my mess to myself... )

I actually didn't change the recipe very much at all, so, Thank You Saveur for this lovely gift. And, if anyone else wants to surprise me with berries... or peaches.... or really anything.. I promise I will share whatever I make with it. 

Black Raspberry Coffee Cake

 Recipe slightly adapted from Saveur

For the topping:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp chilled butter 

1/3 cup Dark Chocolate chocolate chips

For the Cake:

1 cup All purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled (I used salted butter... because I like it better... )

1 1/4 cups fresh black (or red) raspberries

Method:

1. Topping: In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and butter. Using a fork, mix throughly, butter will be crumbly, and then add chocolate. Stir well to combine. 

2. Cake: Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.In a seperate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon. 

3. Pour batter into a lightly greased 8" spring form pan. Sprinkle raspberries over cake and then cover with the topping. Bake until well browned, around 40 minutes. Serve Warm. Or cold. With coffee. Or chocolate milk. Or, don't serve it at all and keep it for yourself.