There was an old man who loved eating berries. However, he lived in the desert where berries could not grow well. He chose to settle down in the desert because he could be alone there. Most folks don’t want to live in a desert, but the old man knew about the desert’s secrets. Deserts have the best sunsets, fascinating boulders, and you can grow blackberries!
Though after decades of trying, he found he could only grow blackberries. None of the other berry bushes could survive.
So he made everything he could with blackberries: blackberry jam, blackberry pies, blackberry muffins, and blackberry sauces. He climbed rocks, watched the sunset everyday, and enjoyed his peaceful alone time. And just like that, decades passed.
Eventually, he grew tired of blackberries, became too stiff to climb rocks, and the sunsets became normal. He complained his house was too small and went outside to stand on the beach, dreaming of sailing to distant lands overgrown with other kinds of berry bushes.
On one such day, as the man stood on the beach, the waves came alive and spoke to him. “Come,” they called, foamy fingers tickling his ankles. They spoke of treasures and mermaids, but the old man grumbled and walked away. “Leave me alone.”
The waves persisted. “Come,” they called, chasing his footsteps. They spoke of juicy sweet pearls of blue and red. The old man lifted an eyebrow.
“Juicy sweet, you said?” He huffed in disbelief, shaking his head. But thoughts of berries raced through his mind and he paced up and down the beach. His pacing grew faster and faster until he found himself at a harbor in front of a small sailboat for sale.
The waves huffed too, but mockingly so, and slipped into the dark blue to plot a playful plan.
“Juicy sweet,” he chuckled, patting the side of the boat. “I’ll buy this one!”
The old man spent the rest of the day packing up his new sailboat with enough jars of blackberry jam and blackberry muffins for a great journey.
He set sail the next day. The wind was steady, and the waves lapped gently at the sides of the boat. He could see his house getting smaller and smaller in the distance and he raised a triumphant fist.
“I’m free!”
The old man stood at the helm and grinned up at the sky, feeling the freedom and excitement as he devoured a blackberry muffin. Even the crumbs on his beard clung in sticky delight.
“Pearls of blue and red! Must be blueberries and raspberries,” he said, licking his lips in anticipation. He didn’t pay attention to the shifting clouds and trembling waters.
Waves are fickle children born from the breeze. It wasn’t long before they were slurping and sloshing hungrily up the sides of his boat. By the time the old man realized and hurried to put on his raincoat and take in the sails, it was too late. The waves rose like stallions with shimmering white manes and rammed into his vessel in a stampede.
They rushed and gushed, tumbling onto the deck.
“My jams!” the old man yelled.
But the waves leapt and crashed, taking all the jams he had canned.
“Stop, you thieves. Stop!” he shouted. The wind sucked the words from his throat.
He squinted against the stinging salty spray and watched as the waves swooped in to snatch jar after jar.
Then all fell silent except for a few balmy whispers. The robbers vanished quick with the storm.
The old man shook his head at the wreck. “Wretched, tricky waves!” He hissed and stomped around the deck. His sail was torn, lines lay tangled in knots, and his flag was missing.
“Why me?” he moaned. “My life is ruined. This is wrong. This is all wrong.”
He slumped down at the base of the mast and sulked. Hours passed and the sun was high. A group of seagulls flew by overhead screeching and laughing. The old man spat at them.
“Don’t laugh at me.”
He looked around him and saw nothing had changed. His sail was still torn, his lines were still tangled, and his flag was still missing. He thought about yelling for help but no one was around and he was too proud to ask anyway. He thought about raspberries and blueberries.
Well, I guess if I don’t do something I’ll perish out here, he thought to himself. He hung up his raincoat and went to work. The old man took down the sail to repair, untangled his lines, and tied up his shirt as a new flag. He crossed his arms and stepped back in admiration.
“I impress myself,” he said. “ I deserve a quick nap.” He did not see the puddle at the bottom of the boat.
When he woke, the sun was low on the horizon. He yawned and got up, his feet sloshing against the deck. “What is this?!”
The boat was already half sunk. He ran up and down trying to bail out water with his hands. “Why me?” he wailed. “This is wrong. This is all wrong.”
The boat took on water more quickly than he could bail out. Hurriedly, he inflated the emergency raft, grabbed his raincoat and the oars and jumped in, just as the rest of the boat went under with a gurgle.
The old man stared motionless at the ocean around him and was silent for a long time. The air grew chilly. More seagulls flew by laughing but he did not look up as he mindlessly put on his raincoat. He hunkered down as the raft bobbed up and down with the waves; a tiny dot of yellow in the vast deep blue.
His belly rumbled. He thought about the blackberry jams, blackberry pies, blackberry muffins, and blackberry sauces he made at home.
Rubbing his aching stomach, he felt a lump in his jacket pocket.
“What is this?” He pulled out a blackberry muffin, as dry as can be, warmed by the sun all day, complete with a tendril of steam. The old man brought the muffin to his nose and took in a deep breath of the moist sweetness.
Taking a bite of the muffin, his face softened.
“I suppose it could be worse,” he said. The old man thought of stories of sailors never reaching their homes. Fishermen, whalers, and vessels lost in the foam.
Just then, he noticed the sunset. It washed the sea in a spectacular explosion of yellow, orange, peach, pink, and purple light. It was hard to see where the sea ended and the sky began. He stretched out his neck, gazing entranced by all around him. Then he saw a shadowy line of what might be the shore. Squinting at a shape that resembled his house, he saw great detail in his mind’s eye. There is the skull-shaped rock and that must be the towering cactus next to my house! he thought, leaning far over the raft edge. A stab of pain fired in his lower back. I miss my bed.
The old man lifted his hand to his mouth but there was no more muffin, so he licked his fingers instead.
“I guess just blackberry ain’t so bad after all.” A faint smile danced on his lips as tightened his grip on the oars. “I wonder if I have enough berries left for another batch of muffins,” he said with a grin and rowed towards home, his eyes twinkling with a youthful light.
Afterword
“Then the delight, when your courage kindled, and out you stepped onto new ground, your eyes young again with energy and dream, a path of plentitude opening before you.”
– John O’Donohue
For me, this quote describes the moment you see something you’ve always known in a totally different way. Home is a journey. It’s the version of you who has the power to define the moment and shift how you relate to what happens. Personally, during COVID-19, appreciation and acceptance have been the constant lighthouses guiding me away from believing I’m a victim, from defining myself by the events in my life and striving to change things I cannot control.
In times of suffering, may this story give you the inspiration to grant yourself permission to put down what is too heavy to carry, to let go of what no longer serves you, and to honor your journey and path with gratitude.
Blackberry Coffee Cake Muffins
makes 12 muffins
prep time: 45 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients
blackberry compote
(makes about 1 ½ cups compote)
2 cups fresh blackberries
5 ½ tbsp sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ tbsp fruit pectin
streusel topping
2 tbsp cold butter
1 ½ tbsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
coffee cake muffins
1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
6 tbsp butter
½ cup plus 3 tbsp sugar
3 ½ tbsp brown sugar
3 eggs
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp cinnamon
ingredients
blackberry compote
(makes about 1 ½ cups compote)
2 cups fresh blackberries
5 ½ tbsp sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ tbsp fruit pectin
streusel topping
2 tbsp cold butter
1 ½ tbsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
coffee cake muffins
1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
6 tbsp butter
½ cup plus 3 tbsp sugar
3 ½ tbsp brown sugar
3 eggs
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp cinnamon
instructions
To make the Blackberry Compote
Put all of the berries, the lemon juice, and half of the sugar into a pot. Cook over medium heat until the fruit breaks down (about 5-7 minutes).
Add the pectin and the remaining half of the sugar with a whisk.
Bring to a boil, then let simmer over low heat (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and ladle into a bowl or mason jar and let cool. Move it into the refrigerator while preparing the muffins. Half of the compote will be used for filling inside the muffins and the other half is reserved for spreading.
To make the Streusel Topping
Grate the cold butter on the large side of a box grater into a bowl. Add the sugars and the dry ingredients and combine them using a fork until the mixture resembles a coarse sandy texture.
Let chill in the refrigerator while preparing the muffins.
To make the Coffee Cake Muffins
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a 12-well muffin pan or line with muffin cups.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl, set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugars with a paddle until light and fluffy. Alternate between adding the eggs and the sifted dry ingredients. Add in the vanilla extract, and finally the sour cream. Scrape down the bowl between each addition and don’t overmix.
Remove half of the mix from the bowl into another container and add cinnamon to that half of the mix. Spoon the second batter mix in globs over the top of the first batter. Then use a butter knife to swirl it into the batter.
Scoop half of the swirled batter into the prepared muffin pan.
Add a tablespoon of berry compote to the middle of each muffin well.
Scoop in the remaining second half of the batter on top of the berry compote.
Sprinkle a layer of streusel on top of each muffin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Author’s Notes
In the kitchen
Pectin is a starch extract from apples and/or citrus rinds that helps thicken jams and jellies. You can find it in the supermarket in both liquid and dry packet forms. While it is possible to make jams without pectin simply by adding sugar and cooking longer, it is generally not recommended since it results in less jam from evaporation and reduced nutrition from overcooking the fruit.
In the classroom
Coffee cake does not taste like coffee. I remember feeling confused when I first tried coffee cake, and thought it was bland because I expected it to taste like coffee. I didn’t know that you were supposed to have it with coffee! If you are not a coffee drinker like me, they are delicious with milk or an Earl Grey milk tea, especially for breakfast, and amazing with vanilla ice cream and fresh blackberries if you’re having it for dessert.
The coffee cake evolved over hundreds of years and across continents. The first coffee cakes are thought to have originated in Germany, and became well known in America in the 1800s. Streusel (pronounced STROI-zuhl in German) refers to the crumb topping and is sometimes mistaken for the cinnamon swirl in the center. Fun fact: April 7 is National Coffee Cake Day!
In life
This story and recipe is a collaboration with Chef Vincent Attali, Executive Pastry Chef at LinkedIn. Chef Vince is a French-American who was raised in New York City and has worked at some of the top pastry shops, Michelin-starred restaurants, and luxury hotels. Currently, at LinkedIn, he leads five teams of pastry cooks, serving breakfast pastries, lunch desserts, and artisanal breads.
As families are currently sheltering-in-place during the COVID19 outbreak, we wanted to provide a versatile and fun recipe, featuring in-season and common ingredients. If you don’t have blackberries, you can substitute with other berries to make the compote, or forego the compote and use store-bought jam of your choice, or not use any jam and just enjoy the coffee cake muffins by themselves.
Coffee cake is typically made in a rectangular baking dish and served as squares, or made in a loaf pan and served as slices. I find them typically offered at coffee shops, restaurants, or diners serving breakfast/brunch. For this story, we wanted to take something common and add a creative twist, so we made them into muffins and put the compote in the middle of each muffin instead of swirling it into the batter as a nice surprise when you bite into it.
