Blackberry Cake with Strudel Topping

It is blackberry time in the Northwest Pacific! My friend and I get up early every day now so we can go on the road and pick the early batch of blackberries. We take advantage of the free berries everywhere we go now. I don't know how to do it right, but my friend seems to be an expert for picking berries. I just follow her guidance, and I have learned quite a lot from her. I now can identify when the ripening berries are ready for picking to determine when I can come back the next time. I can see that people, especially women, who live in Washington State, do know how to pick berries just like I have just learned from my friend. Sometimes, we thought that we arrived early enough, but usually someone else has already been there for the juicy berries. We have a lot of fun doing this. We share our recipes for making blackberry pies, muffins, and cakes and also some tips for making blackberry jam or freezing blackberries for next season. The recipe of blackberry cake that I will share here is a simple one to prepare. This cake can be served for breakfast or with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. Every time when the blackberry season comes, I feel so blessed that I live in such a wonderful place.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup chia seeds gel (1 tsp chia seeds with 1/4 cup water added)
2 cups fresh blackberries
Strudel topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbs butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup ground oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 in. cake pan.
Combine the strudel topping ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and sift the flour.

 

Place the butter, coconut oil, chia seeds gel, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat together until fluffy.

 Gradually beat in the eggs and nonfat yogurt.

Beat in the flour just until combined.

 Fold in half of the blackberries.

Smooth the surface and top with the other half of the blackberries.

 

Top the cake with strudel topping and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes until risen, golden, and firm to the touch, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.