3/24/09

TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake


This cake was SO good! Sihan of Befuddlement chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe (you can find the recipe on Sihan's blog). I love coffee cake- and the thing I love most about it is crumb topping- so sweet and crunchy, mmm! Well this coffee cake does not disappoint- the cake itself is moist and flavorful and the crumbs are the best I've ever made at home. The cake has a really nice thick layer of topping that really got nice and crunchy in the oven. A few people had trouble with the crumb mixture melting into the cake- I think the key to preventing this from happening is keeping the crumbs in the refrigerator until right before the cake goes into the oven.

I went ahead and used the blueberries that the original recipe calls for- but Dorie says that any berries (other than strawberries) and most soft fruits (plums, peaches, etc.) work great in it too. So now I can't stop thinking about making this cake with cherries or raspberries! I also doubled the lemon zest and the cinnamon which turned out great- but I'm not sure if I would do that with other more flavorful berries.
Another great thing about this cake is that the ingredients are more like a quick bread so there is no yeast (the best coffee cakes seem to always have yeast in them) which makes the cake really quick to throw together the morning you plan to serve it. My brother was in from college for Spring Break so I served the cake to my family for a late Saturday morning breakfast (since college kids sleep 'til noon...still hard to believe that was me two years ago!)- and the whole cake was gone in one day!

And just for fun, here's Helen Mae enjoying the Spring day with a wreath of clovers on her head which she dubbed "hat".

10 comments:

Jessica said...

It looks so yummy with all of those delicious blueberries in it. I bet your family loved having this treat, regardless of what time it was!

Di said...

Your cake turned out great! I think this one would be really good with raspberry, and I wouldn't mind trying peach, either. Cute picture of Helen Mae. =)

chocolatechic said...

Your topping looks just like Dories.

Cristine said...

Your cake looks amazing! Makes me want it again now! :)

Leslie said...

Awesome looking cake! Your crumb topping is the best I've seen so far! Truly, that is an achievement! But who needs a gorgeous cake when you have a cutie like Helen Mae?!?

Anonymous said...

Yes, the crumb topping rocks! Nice photos.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Love your topping. I have to make it.

Pamela said...

This cake was so good, wasn't it? I have cherries in the freezer and think I just might bake it up again very soon. Nice job!

TeaLady said...

Yummy cake. Cute kiddo.

Unknown said...

Your cake looks delicious! I made mine with cranberries but I'm really looking forward to trying the blueberry version! Oh, and what a cute little girl!