BLACKBERRY SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

Last week when I "worked" my usual shift at the register at HPC Thrift Shop, it was really slow in the shop. Since there were four of us volunteering, it meant I worked at Register 4. 

When we first moved into the new shop, I liked working there because it felt almost like I was still in the old shop. (Register 4 is over in front of display cases that hold some electronics, some vintage, some seasonal items, etc. The other three registers are enclosed in the center of the check-out area with jewelry.) When things are slow, the volunteers at Registers 1 - 3 can visit with each other. The volunteer at Register 4 is just far enough away to not be able to be included. Customers will stand and wait in line instead of going over to Register 4 unless you get their attention by yelling, "I can help you at Register 4." (Please forgive me for complaining because I enjoy volunteering at Hillcrest, but I like being busy. I may have had 10 sales last Tuesday during the 2-1/2 hours of my shift.)

The good thing that happened (I always try to find something good out of every situation that might seem bad) was I decided to go pick a few cookbooks off the shelf for books and found a really good one - Peacock Pantry, Favorite Recipes from Peacock Hill Country Inn.  According to the back of the book, "Tucked away on a one-thousand-acre retreat of rolling farmland in Middle Tennessee, Peacock Hill Country Inn offers luxurious accommodations, delightful meals, and the opportunity to escape hectic everyday lives in an historic setting. The Peacock Pantry shares these experiences with you through recipes gathered by Anita Ogilvie over the years and served with love to each and every guest..." There were so many recipes in the cookbook that I wanted to try, I had to buy the cookbook.

The first one I decided to make was this Blackberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake. The last coffee cake I made for the volunteers at the shop was a BIG HIT! (I haven't had a chance to share it with you because of writing my travelogue of our recent trip and then the Cookie Week, but I will be sharing it soon. It is an overnight coffee cake from the 1974 Des Moines Register. It is very, very close to a recipe in this cookbook.) 

Well, everyone loved the coffee cake and since we were busier than we have been in a long time we just didn't open Register 4 and I worked Register 3. The "General Store" and "Vintage" were both 50% off and so we had to have a "bagger" helping at each register. When one register was checking out a "buggy" full which happened several times, two volunteers would end up bagging. It was really a crazy morning, but not that crazy and I loved it. 

Click here for a printable version of just the recipe.

BLACKBERRY SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

1/2       cup (1 stick) butter, softened or room temperature
1          cup sugar
3          eggs, lightly beaten
1          teaspoon baking powder
1/4       teaspoon salt
1          teaspoon baking soda
2          cups flour
1          cup sour cream (I used lite sour cream)
2          cups fresh or frozen blackberries (I used a 12 - oz bag of frozen blackberries)
1          cup packed brown sugar
1/4       cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened or room temperature
1/4       cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. 

Cream 1/2 cup butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat well.

Add 2 cups flour alternately with the sour cream, beating well after each addition.

(Starting and ending with the flour add about a third of the flour

and then half of the sour cream, repeat, end with rest of flour.)

 

Fold in the blackberries.

 

Spread batter in pan. Batter will be thick.

Beat the brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter until light and fluffy.

Add 1/4 cup flour

and mix until crumbly. (This doesn't take long.)

Sprinkle over the batter.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the coffee cake tests done. The topping should melt and partially sink into the batter. Cool on wire rack.