Blueberry Coffee Cake with Strudel Topping

Whenever we go see my in'laws in Pittsburgh, or when they come to visit us here in the Chicago area, my mother in'law always makes her awesome coffee cake.  It is moist and delicious and as the best crumb topping ever.  We were having one of my husbands buddies as a house guest for the week-end and I wanted to make a coffee cake.  My first thought was that I would ask my mother n'law for her recipe because I know it would be a hit.  But then I thought again....if I have her recipe and make her special coffee cake wheneve we want it, then it would not be as special when she made it for us. So I decided that in order to keep her coffee cake special I would find my own coffee cake recipe to make.  I decided on a Gold Medal Flour recipe that I found for a "Bluebarb" Coffee Cake.  That specific recipe called for 1 cup of blueberries a and a cup of rhubarb.  I omitted the rhubarb and doubled the blueberries.  The Gold Medal recipe called for a 1/4 cup of shortening in their recipe, but I detest anything made with shortening. For some reason I feel that it has a weird taste when placed in baked goods...that I just my opinion.  I choose to use un-salted sweet cream butter instead.  I also added one more egg to make it more "cake-like" and substituted light brown sugar for regular sugar in the strudle topping.  Long story short....my Blueberry Coffee Cake with Strudel Topping turned out great!  Was it as great as my mother n'laws?  No way...not even close.  But for my guests who have not tried hers....mine could possible be the next best thing!

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE WITH STRUDLE TOPPING 

For Coffee Cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

For Strudle Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour

• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup firm butter

For Vanilla Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. hot water
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions to make coffee cake:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease springform pan, 9 x 3 inches, or square pan, 9x9x2 inches. 
2. Mix all ingredients for coffee cake in a large bowl except blueberries.  Beat for about 30 seconds.
3. Fold in blueberries.

4. Spread cake batter in pan and sprinkle with prepared strudle topping (below)
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center of cake.
6. Cool 10 minutes.  Remove from pan (take away springform sides of pan).
7. Drizzle coffee cake with vanilla glaze (see below)

Directions to make crumb  topping:

1. Mix sugars, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. 
2. Cut in butter, using a pastry blender, two forks, or if you are like me you can just use your hands.  Mix until crumbly.  Place on top of cake batter then bake per instructions above.

Directions to make vanilla glaze:

1. Mix all ingredients together until smooth and thin enough to drizzle.
2. Drizzle over cake once it is done baking.