Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Coffee Cake

• servings: 9 pieces
• active time: 30 minutes
• total time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup (200g) brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup (170 g) butter, softened (1.5 sticks)

1 cup (250 g) ricotta cheese

3 eggs

2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla

1 lemon, zested and juiced (approx. 5-7 g zest and at least 30 ml juice)

2 cups (240 g ) all purpose flour

2 tsp (8 g) baking powder

1/2 tsp (3 g) baking soda

1/2 tsp (3 g) salt

1 1/2 cups (225 g) blueberries, tossed in 1 Tbsp (8 g) flour

Streusel Topping

2/3 cup (135 g) brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup (60 g) rolled oats OR (85 g) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (75 g) cold butter - cut into cubes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 pan or line with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer for 3 minutes. Add ricotta and mix for another 5 minutes until very fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and then mix in lemon zest, juice, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Now add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.

GENTLY fold in the blueberries (be especially gentle if the blueberries are frozen, as they will bleed into the batter). Scoop or pour the batter into the prepared pan - set aside.

For the streusel topping, in a bowl with a pastry cutter (or use a food processor - a couple of pulses should do it), mix together the brown sugar, flour (or oats), and cold butter. Combine until the mixture resembles a coarse rustic crumble. Sprinkle the streusel over the blueberry batter in the pan.

Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick/cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.