Raspberry Breakfast Cake

I've been wanting to blog about this recipe for a long time.  It's quickly become one of my family's favorites in its original iteration - blueberry yogurt cake.

This recipe comes from a book I got as a gift from my pastor- Shauna Niequist's Savor.

It's not a cookbook - it's a devotional with recipes in it.  So far, her blueberry yogurt cake has been my hands-down favorite.  It's easy and delicious, and lends itself well to adaptations.  My family eats it practically all day long - for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert after dinner.  It has some sugar, but I feel it's better for them than Halloween candy.  Sometimes I'll eat it toasted with butter or even peanut butter on it.  Delicious!

In the background you can see my attempts to revive my sourdough starters.  Stay tuned!

You will need:

1/2 cup butter, softened or melted

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt - I've also used vanilla yogurt or sour cream and it turns out fine

1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons

lemon zest from one lemon

3 eggs

splash of vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 cups of blueberries or other kind of berry (I used raspberries; it really is spectacular if you use blueberries but all I had on hand was raspberries and I wasn't going to let that hold me back!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a large, 9x13 baking dish and line with parchment paper.

2. Toss the raspberries or blueberries with two tablespoons of sugar.  Set aside.

3. Combine the butter, yogurt, 1 cup sugar, lemon zest, splash of vanilla and eggs in a large bowl.

4. Add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda to the yogurt mixer and stir to combine.  It should be a little lumpy.

5. Using a spatula, pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and even out the top.

6. Toss the berries on top of the batter.  As it cooks, the berries will settle into the batter so they are evenly distributed throughout.

7. Put the baking dish in the oven and cook for 40-50 minutes.  Remove when it's nicely browned and feels "set" or when a toothpick comes out clean.  Let it rest for an hour before serving.

If you want to know more about the science behind raspberry cake, check out this post!