Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake
Topped with fresh berries and dusted with powdered sugar, this Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake is a great way to celebrate summer berry season!
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A little over 2 years ago, we moved into our new house. This house is literally right around the corner from the old house. We were looking for something a little bit bigger, and we stumbled across this house while we were driving around looking at Christmas lights. 2 months later, we were moving in!
For the record, a move around the corner sounds easy – it’s not. I made countless trips back and forth in the car with boxes. However, the short distance did make it easier to move some things – like the riding lawnmower. I have no idea how you move a riding lawnmower in a long-distance move. I guess ride it onto the back of a moving truck? All I did was bundle up and drive the thing down the road.
On a side note, that had to be a hilarious sight. It was about 20°F, and there was snow on the ground. There I was riding a lawnmower down the street. Laura did follow me in a pick-up truck to make sure I didn’t have any trouble.
We’d borrowed an old pick-up truck from a friend to help us move, and on this particular trip it was loaded with stuff from our shed. Wheelbarrow, shovels, etc. And Robbie’s plastic basketball net – with a ball stuck in the net – was hanging out of one side of the truck. At one point in the ½-mile drive, the ball fell out, and Laura had to hop out and get it. These were all neighborhood streets, but I’m sure we still looked like the Beverly Hillbillies moving in!
We absolutely love our new house. It’s a bit larger, and I have my own office. It’s great! However, one thing I miss about the old house? Our berry bushes. We lived in that house for 10 years, and we had an established crop of raspberries and blackberries that came back year-after-year. I loved being able to go into the backyard and pick blackberries and raspberries all summer long.
Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake
Mixed Berry Topped Coffee CakeOne of the many things that we did when we moved is plant a row of blackberry bushes along one side of the new house. We only got a couple of berries in year 1, and we’ve seen more in year 2. The bushes are doing well, though, and I’m hoping by next year they will be producing as many as we had in the old house.
I didn’t plant any raspberry bushes in this house. It was partly an oversight and partly just going all-in on blackberries this time. However, one night at the end of last summer, I was finishing up some work in my office. My office overlooks the street, and I noticed a family stopping to pick something while they were out on an evening walk. I thought, “Hmm, that’s odd. I wonder what they’re picking?” The area across from us is “forever wild.” There’s a little stream that runs through it, so no-one is able to build there. It’s mostly just trees and plants…and a whole ton of raspberry bushes!
After that family left, I wandered over to see what was going on. Sure enough. Wild raspberry bushes. Like 100 yards worth at least. I was so excited that I went and got Robbie out of bed (he was having quiet time in his room before bed), and took him over in his pajamas to show him the raspberries! Talk about random luck!
Speaking of berries, let’s turn our attention to today’s recipe. This Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake is an amazing way to celebrate summer berry season! I used my go-to coffee cake and streusel topping…and then piled a bunch of berries on top before baking. I then added a few more fresh berries and a light dusting of powdered sugar once the cake was out of the oven. It was a delicious cake, and I have to say it didn’t last long in our house. That’s ok, though – I know where I can find more raspberries and blackberries!
If you like coffee cakes, then put this Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake on the list. The juices from the berries soaked into the top of the cake a bit while baking, but I didn’t mind at all. I hope you agree that this is one heck of a tasty way to start out a summer morning…or end a summer evening! Happy baking!
Did you bake this Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Mixed Berry Topped Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup fresh blueberries
- ½ cup fresh raspberries
- ½ cup fresh blackberries
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
For the Cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1¼ cups sour cream
Instructions
For the Topping
- Using a large bowl, add both sugars, cinnamon, ginger and salt; stir until well combined.
- Add melted butter; stir until well combined.
- Add flour; stir until well combined. Set topping aside.
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour (or spray with nonstick spray) a 9”x3” springform pan. Set pan aside.
- Using a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined; set mixture aside.
- Using a countertop mixer, cream together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy (~2-3 minutes on medium speed).
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add vanilla, lemon juice and sour cream; mix on low speed until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on low until just combined.
- Transfer half of the batter into prepared baking pan. Crumble half of the topping on top of the batter. Pour remaining batter on top. (Note: Remaining topping will get added later.)
- Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
- Remove cake from the oven and sprinkle remaining topping mixture on top. Gently press half of the berries into the top of the cake. Tent the top of the cake with foil and continue baking for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out mostly clean.
- Place cake on cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before releasing the rim from the pan.
- Allow cake to cool completely and then dust the top of the cake with confectioner’s sugar. Add remaining berries on top before slicing and serving.
Looking for more fun coffee cake recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Raspberry Jam Filled Coffee Cake
Will be making this soon can i use vegan butter for the topping and cake as am dairy free i never had coffee cake before perfect for my birthday on 19 September and after office meals will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hey Ramya! I haven’t baked with vegan butter before, but I imagine it would for this recipe. I absolutely love coffee cake, so if you’ve never made a coffee cake before, then you need to make one! (There’s no actual coffee in a coffee cake.) Happy baking!
Oh riding lawnmower in the snow must have been quite hilarious and hmmm… peculiar?
It’s also sad to hear about your established bushes. Andrew says, if / when we move out, he will take all the bushes and even fruit trees (that we bought) with us. Well, depending on how long are we going to live in our house (thus, how big those trees might become by that time), that could be quite a spectacular move, too…starting with the point of digging up them. I will send you an invitation for that performance haha.
Anyway, this cake looks and sounds delicious – I love the combination of mixed berries. But wait, I don’t see any coffee!! (Just kidding – I remember)
Oh man, I wish we had a video of that one, Ben. I was riding down the road in the middle of the winter (so bundled up in a snow jacket) on a riding mower. Laura was following behind in a beat-up pick-up truck with Robbie’s toys falling over the side. It had to be quite the sight! If you end up doing the same type of move with your fruit trees, let me know! (Also, I’m sad we had to leave our fruit trees behind. They were ~9 years old at that point. And the kicker is I think the guy who bought our old house chopped them down.)
Either way, this coffee cake is fantastic for summer evenings…and summer breakfasts…or both! Haha!
I could imagine that moving just around the corner would present a whole different set of challenges!
This is such a festive, berry-full cake, David. I love it! Perfect for the 4th of July weekend coming up.
It sounds so easy to just move around the corner, right? And it is on some levels…but it also presents quite a few different issues. Either way, we made it! Haha.
Thanks so much, Marissa. This coffee cake was quite tasty, and I love the summer angle with all of the fresh berries baked in/on top. 🙂
Berries are in season not, and this recipe gives a good reason to try out with summer berries. Looks scrumptious!
Moving just around corner with lawn mower on the snow in the middle of winter sounds like a fun memory to tell. Glad that you love your new home.
Yes! I love summer berry season. The only problem is that the season is so short up here in upstate New York…well, at least for locally grown berries. I highly recommend this coffee cake – it’s a tasty and fun recipe for these summer days! Thanks, Holly!
Love this recipe, David! The texture of your cake looks positively to.die.for! This recipe would really be a great start to 4th of July, too! I’m glad you found a good raspberry source! I’d love to find some wild raspberries – our yard is the size of a postage stamp, so those wild-growing things require more taming than Im willing to do. But this cake – Im all in! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh, I do love a good coffee cake, Laura! This one is quite tasty for summer thanks to all of the berries both baked in and sprinkled on top.
I totally get you about small yards and berries. They do spread quite a bit…that’s why we’re lucky that we found a patch across the street! (i.e. Not my yard, but I can still take advantage of it!)
okay david you know i’m going to say this but coffee cake?! To us aussies, coffee cake is a cake made with coffee!! anyways this looks great. how fab to have raspberry bushes across the road. and as for blackberries, they’re actually a noxious weed here! so you definitely can’t go planting them. but i do adore them! berry farmers are allowed to grow them of course.
I know, Sherry, I know. You and Ben are both the same. Coffee cake here in the states doesn’t actually call for coffee. (Well, except for the time I made that Cappuccino Coffee Cake…just for fun!) Wow, that’s crazy to hear about blackberries being weeds. I mean, I get it. They do spread out quite a bit, but still! I wish the weeds in my yard produced things like blackberries…haha! 🙂
Where I spend the summers, I’ve got wild blackberries growing all along the edge of the forest. But the wild turkeys are much better at knowing when they’re ripe than I am, and they usually eat them all! Fortunately, they have not figured out how to get inside the house and eat my cakes, so I’m convinced that if I follow this recipe, I will at least get my berry fix!
It must be so odd to go by your old house every day, and see how the neighbors are ruining it. 😉
Oh man, what I would give to find a patch of wild blackberries! There were a bunch on my grandparents’ property when I was a kid, and I have fond memories. Whether they are store-bought or obtained in fierce battle with wild turkeys, I can say that berries make this coffee cake that much better. Perfect for summer! And, yes, it’s a weird feeling seeing the old house and how they’ve ripped out so much of the backyard that we spent years planting. Oh well. Cheers, Jeff!
Okay, seems like only yesterday you moved into your new home! How the time goes by!! Anything with ‘mixed berry’ and I’m in! Love berries and I’ve been eating so many of them lately (like A LOT). This delicious coffee cake is just another way to get my berry fix. Plus, who doesn’t love a beautiful dessert like this?? Have a great week, my friend!
I know, right? It’s been 2+ years now, Dawn. Of course, 1+ years of that was the black hole that was (is?) covid. Either way, this coffee cake is downright delicious! It’s perfect for summer with all of the berries in there! Hope your week is going well, too!
We moved as well too but its still short of a year. While your move was just around the corner, for us it was different suburbs, essentially different cities. It was easy for us to move since we got rid of all we had since they are all aging and grabbed new things for the new house. We just ended up using a small truck just for the clothes and plants, plus we are quite minimalistic so its way much easier. Our new house was designed to be very low maintenance one so no berry plants for me like what you have but having said that we are just in the neigborhood of berry and grape farms so if I plan to make this delicious Mixed Berry Coffee Cake of your, it would be easy and ingredients would be fresh too.
You make a good point about moving, Raymund – we also took the opportunity to get rid of a lot of stuff. Certainly not as much as if we had moved further away, but it was still a significant amount of old junk that found its way to the trash can!
I love that you are in the midst of berry and grape farms. I bet grapes would totally work in this recipe, although I haven’t tried them myself yet. Cheers, my friend!