I love when Lisa gets on a “I’m gonna bake treats” kick. This week she spotted this recipe @101 Cookbooks for a tasty coffee cake with an interesting twist — it includes fresh rosemary and thyme, which happen to be the two plants we’ve actually managed to keep alive in our garden. Perfect!

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Chris says:

Whoa, what’s up stoner?

Lisa says:

Excuse me?

Chris says:

It smells like you’re baking space cakes or something in here.

Lisa says:

Nice try — but not quite. Different herbs — rosemary and thyme.

Chris says:

In coffee cake? What the?

Lisa says:

I know, interesting, right? But you have to taste this.

Chris says:

Omigod this is awesome. It doesn’t really come across super-herby, but I definitely smell it. Why is the inside so yellow?

Lisa says:

Hmmm, not sure… the lemon zest? Don’t you love the crumble on top? So addictive!

Chris says:

Are you sure this is just rosemary and thyme? This coffee cake totally gives me the munchies.

Lisa says:

Believe what you want — just save some for me!

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Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh lemon thyme, chopped
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup maple syrup, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
zest of one lemon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut 1/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp fresh lemon thyme
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, rack in the middle. Butter a 1-pound loaf pan, and line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme, and rosemary. Set aside. In a separate large bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Drizzle in the maple syrup and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Beat in the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, scraping the sides again. Add half of the flour, stir, and just a splash of the buttermilk. Stir again, then add the rest of the flour and stir in the remainder of the buttermilk, until everything just comes together and then very gently fold in one cup of the blueberries. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan and set aside.

To make the streusel topping, place the flour, butter, brown sugar, rosemary, thyme and pecans in a food processor and pulse until the topping is just past sandy/crumbly, yet still moist looking. Crumble 2/3 of it over the cake batter, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup blueberries on top of that, and then add the last of the crumble. Delicately pat in place with your fingers.

Place the coffee cake in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool for five minutes and then remove it from the pan to cool on a rack.