Fresh Fruit Coffeecake

Tim just told me I was NOT allowed to plan anything for the next couple of weekends. Why such a strict mandate? He's exhausted. (Me too)

Being home is wonderful. We keep talking about how happy we are to be home. Yet... it's also overwhelming. We've been jam-packed with house, move, family, friends, etc to-dos every weekend. When it was just us in Germany, we had a lot of mellow down-time. Having a full calendar isn't bad, and we WANT to do it all. We just have to remember to also schedule 'chill time' for ourselves. Otherwise, our first-time-sleep-deprived selves are going to crack. And it wont be pretty.

So, you will find both tim and I at home this weekend. Chillin'. Anyone know of anything good on TV?

This recipe is from my favorite bakery in Seattle, Macrina. They have a line out the door every morning. You can sign-up for their monthly newsletter which includes recipes from their shop. Divine!


I made it a couple weekends ago for a brunch. One of our many weekend activities of late. It was scrumptious, and only a couple pieces were left (which means some folks had more than 1 piece, always a good sign!). It was moist, light yet dense (How can that be?! But it was!), and the perfect hint of sweetness. The blackberries were great, and I can't wait to try it with blueberries or perhaps huckleberries (as the Macrina newsletter suggested).

Other things worth mentioning... my fruit still fell to the bottom, despite rolling it in some of the flour mix. But I didn't mind. I also halved the recipe, and that made enough for 8 people and baked perfectly in an 8 inch round spring-form pan. Aaaannnd, I finally graduated to the big-kids baking world, with my own kitchenaid mixer. This coffeecake was my first time using it. Isn't she pretty?


If you like the coffeecake, maybe you'll have to visit us here in Seattle and go to Macrina yourself. What? You live in timbuktu? Macrina is worth the trip.

Fresh Fruit Coffeecake
from Macrina Bakery

Makes 1 Bundt cake

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups ripe fruit (whole berries or fruit cut into 1/2 inch pieces) - I used self picked blackberries!
12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
Edible flowers and powdered sugar for garnish (optional) - I used powdered sugar and some of the leftover blackberries

Preheat oven to 350º F. Oil a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and toss with your hands to combine. Remove 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and set bowl aside.

In a separate medium bowl, combine fruit and the reserved 1/4 cup of flour mixture. Toss until fruit is evenly coated and set aside. Tossing the fruit in flour helps keep it from sinking to the bottom of the coffeecake - a true disaster!

Combine butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment for 5 to 8 minutes on medium speed. The mixture will become smooth and pale in color. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure the first egg is fully mixed into the batter before adding the other. After the second egg is incorporated, add vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds to make sure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

Alternately add small amounts of flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter mixing with a wooden spoon just until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Gently fold in the flour coated fruit making sure the fruit is evenly distributed through the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared Bundt pan filling two-thirds of the pan.

Bake on the center rack of the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown (my small cake only took about 50 minutes to cook and brown on top). Check the center of the coffeecake with a skewer. It will come out clean when the cake is done. Let cool in a pan for 45 minutes.

Loosen the sides of the cake with a sharp knife. Place a serving plate upside-down on top of the cooled Bundt pan and invert the pan to remove the cake.

Guten appetit!