Gourmet Coffee Day

Today is National Gourmet Coffee Day. What’s the point of brewing up a cup of Gourmet Coffee without a delicious Gourmet Coffee Cake to serve with that extra-ordinary cup of Joe?

We’ll get to that cake in a minute. Right now I wanted to explore the term “gourmet” as it applies to coffee. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, gourmet as an adjective means “of, relating to, or being high quality, expensive, or specialty food typically requiring elaborate and expert preparation”. While I can see that the quality of the bean would make a difference, and in all likelihood elevate the cost of a cup of coffee, I’m not all that sure where the elaborate or expert preparation would come into play. Okay, maybe filtered water. Maybe a French Press. Maybe a grinder to make the grind to cup time nearly immediate. Seems like an awful lot of bother for a cup of coffee. Although I will admit I do have Jamaican Blue Mountain beans in reserve, that are ground just before brewing, and I do use filtered water for my French Press when making a pot of my precious reserved beans. Once upon a time, in a prior life long, long ago, I was a bit of a gourmet snob when it came to just about everything. These days when shopping for beans, it’s usually Folgers brewed in a drip-pot. There’s a part of me that misses the top-shelf life, but not the person I was back then. That’s a conversation for another day.

I grew up in a time when the ladies of the neighborhood did not work. Often they would get together over coffee and a freshly baked cake to gossip about all sorts of things. These women had opinions and answers for everything. I can remember one women in particular who lived at the opposite end of the street. She minded everybody’s business. Nothing happened in the entire town that she wasn’t aware of. Her daughter and I were close, having made our First Communions together. After high school we lost touch. She married her high school sweetheart and they made a life for themselves back east. Thanks to social media, we have rekindled that friendship and I must say, it is as though the time apart never happened. We are just as close. She is not the only one, so many of my childhood friends are now my on-line friends. I love them dearly, these women of faith.

How I wish women could once again stay home and solve the problems of the world over a slice of cake and a cup of coffee.

Sour Cream Blueberry Bundt Coffee Cake
Bundt Cake Batter
12 tablespoons Butter, soft
1-1/2 cups Sugar
4 large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 cups Flour
1-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sour Cream

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted Bundt Pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Set batter aside.

Brown Sugar Blueberry Filling
1/4 cup backed Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Flour
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 cups frozen Blueberries

Combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; set aside. Rinse blueberries and pat dry.

Spoon a third of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over batter. Top with half of the berries. Repeat layers.

Bake in the heated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter. Let cake continue to cool while the glaze is made.

Glaze
1 cup Powdered Sugar
Heavy Cream as needed

Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add heavy cream, about a tablespoon or so at a time until a thick glaze is achieved. Drizzle glaze over the warm coffee cake. Slice and serve with your favorite cup of Gourmet Coffee. Mine is Jamaican Blue.

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I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and He stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And He put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.