Charlie had a friend over for breakfast the other morning and asked if I’d make a coffee cake. Since I knew our vegan daughter would also be over the same day, I tweaked it to make it vegan — well, almost vegan: she’ll eat eggs from her own pampered hens. Charlie’s friend was surprised when I told him it was vegetarian. Like most people, he thought “vegetarian” means “tasteless”. Not so!

Blueberry Coffee Cake (vegetarian version)

• 2/3 cup vegan margarine (Smart Balance dairy-free is AWESOME)
• 1 cup sugar (I use turbinado)
• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 cups regular all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 package sweetened, frozen blueberries, thawed and drained — I used fresh blueberries macerated in genuine maple syrup
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces
• 4 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Cream together margarine and sugar, blend in egg yolks until creamy. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to creamed mixture, mixing until smooth after each addition. Gently stir in blueberries and pecans. Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks; fold them into other mixture. Turn batter into a greased 9-inch square pan, sprinkle sugar evenly over top, and bake in a moderately hot oven (375F or 350F for glass pan) for 35 to 40 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm, or slather with margarine and re-heat in microwave. Makes 9 HUGE servings.

Really good, and not too sweet.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character has a friend come over for breakfast.

MA