Our blueberry coffee cake with a toasted almond streusel topping is absolutely delightful.

It is a very easy cake recipe and can be made with either fresh or frozen blueberries.

That makes it an easy year round treat.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Almond Topping:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Cream the softened butter, gradually add the sugar, beating them together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg is added. Stir in the 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Combine the flour and baking powder and stir into the creamed mixture, mixing well.

Spread the batter evenly into a greased and floured 13"x9"x2" glass baking dish. Sprinkle with the blueberries and remaining lemon juice. Combine the flour, sugar and almonds for the topping. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the topping over the berries.

Bake at 325°F for 40-45 minutes.

Makes 15 servings.

• You can also mix the blueberries into the cake batter instead of laying them on top. Left on top the blueberries will sink into the cake a bit, but if you want to mix them in, add them gently to the batter before putting the batter into the baking dishes.

• What does creaming the butter mean and why do we do it? Cream the butter by "scrunching" it with a fork, over and over again, until it becomes lighter yellow in color. That adds air to the butter and helps to ensure your cake is nice and light in texture.

• This delicious coffee cake can easily be changed to suit your taste. Replace the blueberries with fresh raspberries for a refreshing change. Or try using sweetened dried cranberries. You can also substitute chopped or slivered almonds for a lovely almond coffee cake, great with the almond topping.