Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This is a new recipe that I made on a recent Saturday morning when everyone was home for the weekend.  It is really good.  It’s an easy recipe, the most difficult part being in dicing up the cream cheese.  It is easier to dice into such small pieces if you first put the cream cheese into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.  That helps chill enough so that it doesn’t stick to the knife blade as much.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbls. grated lemon rind

2 Tbls. butter softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat 1/2 cup butter on medium speed with a mixer until creamy.  Gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar, beating well.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt, stir well.  Combine milk and water.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixure.  Mix at low speed until mixture is blended.  Gently stir in blueberries and cubed cream cheese by hand.  Pour batter into a greased 9 inch square pan.

Combine 1/2 cup all purpose flour and last three ingredients.  Stir well with a fork. Sprinkle mixture over batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 55 minutes or until done.  Serve warm or let cool completely on a wire rack.