Blueberry Nutmeg Coffee Cake

A great treat in the morning no matter what time of year…this Blueberry Nutmeg Coffee Cake is delicious with nutmeg and luscious blueberries!

I’ve only met Cheryl Sternman Rule through Twitter, her blog’ 5 Second Rule‘ and now through her new cookbook, ‘Ripe.’ She does freelance work for several publications and she is someone whose voice I admire.

Her blog posts are filled with stories and anecdotes that just work for me; a combination of warmth, humor and knowledge that I just love reading. If you haven’t heard of Cheryl then run, don’t walk and see for yourself what I’m talking about; you will love her too!

When we discussed my reviewing her new book I was certainly excited; I expected something wonderful. But I didn’t expect this. Categorized into color sections based on the color of the produce, the photos by Paulette Phlipot are as exquisite as the recipes; each one tantalizing you and almost saying, ‘Make me, make ME!’

I had a difficult time choosing just one so I decided to choose by color. My favorite color of all time is purple. I can remember as a little girl wanting to wear all purple every day and I can not even believe my parents indulged me when moving into a new home when I was ten. They let me pick the color of the fixtures in the bathroom I would share with three siblings and purple it was!

While I’m not quite that fanatical today; I still love the color, so purple it was. This section actually combines purple and blue. The first recipe and photo were for blackberry-lime cornmeal shortcakes. OH YES…I was going to make those but alas, no blackberries.

Moving on I next happened on this cake. Not a coffee cake dotted with some blueberries, no, it was a cake FILLED with them. I had just stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some gorgeous blueberries; this I could do. Is there anything that can really beat a coffee cake in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee? I don’t think so either!

I did mention to Cheryl that I was making this cake and she, in an appropriate fashion for her name, sternly warned me, ‘Don’t eat it today, make sure you save it for tomorrow.’ That had been my plan but I admit, I might have normally taken a nibble but feeling Cheryl was sitting on my shoulder watching, I waited.

I was promised a moist, jammy cake and I thought, ‘Hehe, she does not know Denver.’ Still, I persevered and was so happy I did. Wrapped up and aging overnight gave me just that; seriously moist and plump with blueberries; it was divine. The nutmeg? Genius. I love cinnamon as much as the next guy but why don’t we honor nutmeg more; it was amazing.

I seriously loved this cake. When fruit is perfectly seasonal and ripe, it doesn’t need to be overplayed. This was all about the berry. I’m craving it again. I have blueberries in the fridge and this coffee cake needs to be made again. They will be baking in a cake within the hour especially now that it’s 72 at noon and not 102. There was not a lot of baking going on in my home the past couple of weeks and I’m ready!

If you love fresh and ripe produce and wants some great new recipes for them, I highly suggest you consider ‘Ripe,’ it’s one of my favorite new cookbooks; might just be yours too.

PIN IT! ‘Blueberry Nutmeg Coffee Cake’