Easter, like any holiday, means lots of relatives and lots of good food. We spent most of Saturday baking cookies, a chocolate cake, Parker House rolls and homemade raviolis. Sunday was the lamb, ham, sweet potatoes and rice, carrots and green beans, finishing with an array of desserts. Say it with me "food hangover".
Our guests normally arrive about 2 hours before we eat and snack on breakfast tidbits. I normally make Tilly Draisen's Toffee Treasure Cake, but today I wanted to make something different. I was craving blueberries.
I found this New York-Style Crumb Cake in the April 2010 edition of Bon Appetit. It was right next to the Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake which I will feature later this week. I was so excited to find a coffee cake with a thick crumb topping. When cooked correctly it melts right into the top of the cake. The cake was amazing, very rich and sweet. I loved the blueberries because of their slight sourness. The cake melts in your mouth, then again, it would have to...lots of butter.
This is a great breakfast cake and can work just as well as an afternoon tea cake. Oh, and don't hold back, sprinkle a little confectioner's sugar on top.
Ingredients:
Crumb Topping
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, warm
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries (I added)
Preparation for Topping:
Mix both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl and whisk to blend. Add warm melted butter and stir to blend. Add flour and toss with fork until moist clumps form (topping mixture will look slightly wet). Set aside.
Cake Preparation:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and beat just until blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, beating just until incorporated after each addition. Fold in the blueberries. Transfer cake batter to prepared baking dish; spread batter evenly with rubber spatula or offset spatula. Squeeze small handfuls of topping together to form small clumps. Drop topping clumps evenly over cake batter, covering completely (topping will be thick).
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and topping is deep golden brown and slightly crisp, about 1 hour. Cool cake in dish on rack at least 30 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover and let stand at room temperature.
Cut cake into squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
