Cheesecake Stuffed Blueberry Coffee Cake Loaf

Recently I posted (on facebook) a photo of a coffee cake I brought into work as a "thank you" to my co-workers for a great first four weeks on the job. I never got around to posting the recipe, so tonight I bring you a great coffee cake loaf, stuffed with cheesecake filling, with blueberries, a cinnamon streusel topping, and light glaze.  To make this, I took my favorite coffee cake recipe (adapted from Cooking Light), made a cheesecake filling, used frozen blueberries and topped it all with a brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. The coffee cake loaf was a huge success, so much so that the morning crew devoured it, and the staff that comes in at noon missed out! To make up for that, the next week I brought in a lemon bundt cake and didn't put it out until noon. That way, everyone had an even shot at getting a slice of gratitude!

Here's the recipe:

CHEESECAKE STUFFED BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE LOAF
Oven 375 degrees F
Standard bread loaf pan, bottom lined in parchment paper, sprayed with cooking spray

Coffee Cake Batter:

1/4 cup soft butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Cheesecake Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, dusted with a tablespoon of flour

Cinnamon topping:

1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Confectioners sugar glaze

Directions:

Make coffee cake batter: Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream and extracts. Beat well until completely blended. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well until completely incorporated.

Make cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add extracts and flour, and beat thoroughly until no (or very few) lumps remain.

In prepared pan, pour/smooth 1/2 the coffee cake batter. Sprinkle with half the blueberries. Add all of the cheesecake mixture, covering entire surface. Sprinkle the rest of the blueberries. Top with the remaining batter.

Mix together the cinnamon topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over top of batter.

On center rack of preheated 375-degree oven, bake for 40-50 minutes OR (important) until loaf tests done when a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry OR when the loaf springs back when pressed lightly in the center. Another clue that it's about done: you can really smell the aroma of the baked loaf.

Cool on wire rack for half hour. To remove from pan, cover top of loaf with a dishtowel (to keep streusel from falling off!) and invert loaf into your hand, then turn it over onto a wire rack to complete cooling.

Drizzle confectioners sugar glaze lightly over the top (1 cup confectioners sugar mixed with water, a teaspoon at a time, until it flows in a thick stream off a fork - be careful to add only a little water at a time or it will become too thin very quickly). When it looks like Elmer's glue, it's done. You don't have to use it all - just as much as you want.

Hope you enjoy this recipe. I know you'll love the coffee cake!