Blueberry Crumb Cake

This is another result of the blueberry picking excursion with the boys a couple of days ago.  As I do with recipes that I really like, I made two of these in two days.   I love crumb cakes, and the fresh blueberries in this one are incredible.  I thought this looked and tasted like it came from a nice bakery. It’s always gratifying when my baking turns out that way.

This cake comes together in minutes, and it’s very simple to throw together. It helps if you have your eggs at room temperature, but if you don’t, you can either submerge them in warm water for a few minutes, or throw them in cold like I did. The recipe was still fine with the cold eggs. I just made sure that I scraped the sides of the bowl while I was mixing them in because with cold eggs, the butter/sugar mixture seems to adhere to the side of my bowl.

The original recipe has you baking this in a round cake pan.  I found that using a springform pan makes for a much nicer presentation.   The next time I make this, I might add an extra 1/4 cup of blueberries.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Adapted from recipe from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries dusted with flour
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round springform pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.  If you haven’t already done so, dust the blueberries with flour. This should prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.  Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.

Yield: 8 servings