Yields: 16 squares
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter, softened (half a stick)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature (leave it out for 30 min)
1 tsp lemon zest
2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour or AP flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 Cup Lowfat Buttermilk*
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries**
For the Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, cold
*Note: If you do not have buttermilk, you can add 1 Tbsp of White Vinegar or Lemon Juice to a measuring cup and fill it up to 1 Cup with Milk. Stir and let it stand for 10 min until it thickens to mimic buttermilk. Now you may use 1/2 cup for this recipe and store the other half for another recipe.
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Grease an 8 x 8 square baking pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in an egg, then lemon zest and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in three additions, alternating with a third of the buttermilk at a time, until all of the ingredients are incorporated into the batter. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. To make the topping, whisk flour, sugar and cinnamon and then cut the butter in using a pastry blender or 2 knives cutting in opposite directions until the bitter resembles course meal. Sprinkle the top of the batter with streusel topping.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting it into squares.
**If you’re using frozen blueberries, be very careful because they tend to bleed during mixing and baking (purple swirls can be pretty, but purple cake batter is a little unappealing). Let the frozen blueberries thaw thoroughly, drain the liquid, and instead of folding them in, here’s what you should do: spread a thin layer of batter on the bottom of the prepared pan, sprinkle a handful of blueberries over the batter, cover with another thin layer of batter, and repeat until all of the blueberries are embedded in the batter.
STORING: I stored these in an airtight container in the fridge, but streusel topping loses its crunchiness with moisture, so these are definitely best eaten the day of. You can also leave them on the countertop, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for a maximum of two days.
Original recipe was adapted from The Tasty Bite Blog.
