Blueberry Breakfast Cake

This morning I woke up and realized that I didn't have anything for breakfast. Well, I didn't have anything I wanted. I considered going to the store but then decided that I really should try to use what I have. I thought maybe I could do something like a coffee cake or muffins but I wanted to try to keep it healthy.

Anyway, I barely had any butter so it had to be something I could make without much. Not only did I not have much butter, I also didn't have any milk or yogurt. This put me in a slight predicament. I found a recipe that I'd made before and decided I'd try to twist it subbing in applesauce for the missing butter and pureed cottage cheese with a splash of water for the buttermilk. IT WORKED! It's actually really delicious and the texture is fantastic. I don't miss the butter at all!

Here goes:

Blueberry Breakfast Cake
as adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

1 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (or a few twists of the salt grinder if you have one and are too lazy to measure like I was)
2 T (or a bit less) butter, softened

2 T unsweetened apple sauce

1/3 c sugar

1/4 c packed brown sugar (or a little less)

Splash of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (I actually used the entire zest of one tiny little lemon because the ones I have are so little)

1 egg

1/2 c low-fat cottage cheese pureed until liquid-y with a splash of water

1 c frozen blueberries...or any berry, really

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray (I use High Heat Canola Spray Oil that I found at Whole Foods).

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes, then beat apple sauce, vanilla, and zest. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the cottage cheese, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Scrape batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter the berries over top.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 minutes or so. Cool in pan 10 minutes, if you can wait that long, and then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate. *I definitely ate it right out of the pan.