Another Spring, another blueberry season. The trek to our beloved Temecula Berry Co., took a little more effort this time, mainly by having to brave LA rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon, but once we got out of the car and could almost smell those berries in the air, all was good. And with buckets and empty pitchers in hand, we got to work like we always do.

If you’re going to drive a hundred miles to pick berries, there’s no sense in taking home just a few pints. I think we picked around 22 in all. We heard the record is over 40.

And once all those pints were home, many where frozen, many were cooked down into jam (enough to last until next season.)

And some just have to be baked. We’ve tried other iterations of blueberry desserts over the years. This year, since we’ve been going light on the gluten lately, I found a gluten-free version using King Arthur’s gf muffin mix that turned out perfectly.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake

{adapted from King Arthur Baking Co.}

Topping

2 Tbsp. soft unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp. King Arthur’s gluten-free muffin mix

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

pinch of sea salt

Cake

6 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled

3 large eggs

Remainder of muffin mix

1 cup whole milk

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Grease and flour dust an 8″ round cake pan.

To make the streusel top, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, 6 tablespoons of muffin mix, walnuts and salt, and stir until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside to prepare the cake batter.

Place the rest of the muffin mix into a large bowl with the melted butter and eggs, and combine with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until incorporated.

Next add the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, blending well and scaping the sides of the bowl between additions with a rubber spatula. When all of the milk has been added, mix on medium-high speed for about a minute or until the batter has thickened. Lastly, gently fold in 1/2 cup of the blueberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. This step is important, so don’t skip. The rest allows the baking powder and the xanthan gum in the mix time to thicken before being baked. Top with the rest of the blueberries then the streusel topping.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out kind of crumbly. Remove it from the oven and allow to cool until only slightly warm before cutting and serving.