the McCormick Look Book makes baking easy | berry coffee cake recipe

I do not call myself a baker. I am a cook. And a good one. But, a baker? Yikes! Too much measuring, too many rules!

With the help of the McCormick Look Book and a variety of McCormick products, I decided to give it a shot last weekend. There were a few mishaps along the way, which is expected when one reaches out of their comfort zone. Right?

After browsing the many recipes found in the McCormick Look Book – I decided to bake a Berry Coffee Cake using cherries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I love coffee cake, and have for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite childhood memories is watching my neighbor bake blueberry coffee cake from scratch. That memory inspired this recipe.

The recipe is quite simple; it took about 10 minutes to put together and bakes for 45 – 50 minutes. You could make this in the morning before work – that would certainly make you a star with your co-workers!

First, I mixed an egg, 2 teaspoons of oil, and 1 cup of Almond milk together in the bowl of my stand mixer. To that I added 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

Once the wet and dry ingredients were combined, I added 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons of lemon extract.

I like to add my spices and extracts separate from the flour and sugar because I think it enhances the flavor. Crazy? Probably!

Then I folded in my berries. A nice mixture of cherries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

I poured it into my 8 X 8 well greased {rarely used!} pan and baked it for about 47 minutes. Removed it from the pan after 10 minutes on a cooling rack and enjoyed it!

This recipe can be made with any type of fruit – fresh or frozen – and any type of extract. I think that vanilla extract with blueberries would be a nice twist. Or coffee extract with cherries. It would also be fun to add McCormick food color to your batter!

The McCormick Look Book was a great tool and easy to use. I am feeling inspired to try a few more recipes. What do you think of the McCormick Look Book and my Seasonal Fruit Coffee Cake recipe?

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for McCormick. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.