Revisiting the Past

June 2026

Revisiting the Past

Spring is one of the busiest seasons in these parts. Graduation season, wedding season, kids coming home from college, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and Father’s Day. People are out and about, celebrating accomplishments and relationships. The shop is busy and so are we. Father’s Day signals the beginning of the end and is generally the most challenging day to staff because school is out and people start leaving on vacation. Once July hits, traffic at the shop slows down and we can take a breath. Then we can take a vacation too.

I’ve been working on a couple of projects recently that have me looking at food in different ways. We are at an age where it’s easy to fall into complacency and think that we know everything that we need to know about cooking. It’s a dangerous trap because the world is always changing and so are we. It’s a good time to push ourselves a little to keep our mindset flexible and our skills sharp. There’s a saying that if you don’t like something it’s because you haven’t tasted a great version of it. That was our mindset when we opened the doughnut shop and it’s an idea that I try embrace when I’m eating out or trying new recipes. Someone else’s take on an ingredient that they love may convince me that I love it too.

Today we are revisiting a recipe that we published on Ideas in Food in 2011. You can find the original version here: Strawberry Coffee Cake – Ideas In Food V2.0. Our friend Shola will periodically ask Alex for the recipe because the website was down for a while and he couldn’t find it. It was inspired by our time in Maine, working at a coastal inn. Our breakfast chef would make cakes with fruit under the streusel for the guests and we love the way it softened into a soft, jammy layer between the tender cake and top streusel. In the cooler months, sliced bananas, cranberries or apples work nicely in this spot.

I have tweaked the original recipe a bit to suit my current mindset. I added pepitas, flax seeds and oats to the streusel to reflect my current obsession with homemade granola. I used blueberries instead of strawberries because blueberry cakes were a special treat at sleepaway camp when I was a kid. In my mind they make the ultimate summer breakfast cake. I swapped out the butter for oil in the cake so the cake would be softer and more tender at room temperature. As an added bonus, it makes it easier to mix first thing in the morning because you don’t have to worry about the temperature of the ingredients. You’ll still get the flavor of butter from the streusel. I tweaked the spices and added some cardamom to the cinnamon to highlight with the earthy sweetness of the blueberries. Finally, I swapped out applesauce for half of the sugar so it could be a true breakfast cake (and not spike my sugar levels). This way people (me) can cut generous slices and enjoy them.

We always encourage people to make recipes their own and this is how you do it. If you start with a solid foundation recipe, even if you don’t write your own—like we do, by making thoughtful swaps, the possibilities are endless. In this era of GLP-1, it’s important to remember that food is more than nutrition. It can be a creative outlet, a connection to other people, and a moment of pleasure in a busy day when you take care of yourself and your own needs. We cook for others to make them happy and we should do the same for ourselves. As parents and business owners it’s easy to forget that.

This cake comes together relatively quickly, perfect for an impromptu morning treat. By the time the oven is ready, the batter will be in the pan.

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Makes one 8-inch cake

For the streusel:

½ cup (75 g) all purpose flour

½ cup (107 g) light brown sugar

2 tablespoons (22 g) rolled oats

1 tablespoon (17 g) roasted, salted pepitas

1 tablespoon (10 g) flax seeds

1/8 (0.75 g) teaspoon fine sea salt

3 ounces cold, unsalted butter, diced

For the cake:

½ cup (75 g) all purpose flour

½ cup (70 g) white whole wheat flour

½ cup (100 g) sugar

1 teaspoon (6 g) baking powder

½ teaspoon (3g) fine sea salt

½ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) ground cardamom

½ cup (113 g) neutral vegetable oil (I used sunflower seed)

½ cup (125 g) unsweetened apple sauce

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla paste or extract

1 ½-2 cups blueberries (according to your taste)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Spray and 8-inch round or square baking pan with pan spray

To make the streusel:

While the oven is preheating, put the flour, sugar, oats, pepitas, flax seeds, and salt in the bowl of a mixer or a food processor. Use the food processor if you want a finer crumb, use the mixer or do this by hand if you want a chunkier streusel. Pulse or mix on low to blend for 10-15 seconds to blend everything together. Add all of the butter and pulse or mix on low until the mixture becomes sandy and clumps together. You want a mixture of chunks and loose sandy bits for the finished streusel. If you are doing this by hand, soften the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds on high. Meanwhile whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl to thoroughly mix them together and then use your fingers or a fork to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until it comes together as a chunky, sandy streusel. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To make the cake:

Combine the flours, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Put the oil, apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla in a large measuring cup and whisk to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until it forms a smooth batter, about 30 seconds. Don’t worry about overmixing this because the whole wheat flour will keep it from becoming tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake the pan gently to even out the batter. Sprinkle the fruit evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the streusel over the fruit, covering the entire top of the cake.

Bake for 55-65 minutes until the cake is browned and set. A cake tester inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean and if you gently shake the pan the cake will look set with no rippling in the center. After 10-15 minutes, gently run a spatula around the edges of the cake. Sometimes the juices spill out and stick to the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting. It can be served warm.