Am mesmerized, watching the video of the US Airways plane, in the Hudson River.
Lots of guardian angels in Manhattan, today, both heavenly and of this earth.
Life is good......................
Turning to why we're here, Blueberry Crumb Cake. This is a recipe adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. It is a fantastic cookbook. It has become my 'go to', not only for the excellent recipes, but for all the tips she offers. I highly recommend it.
Blueberry Crumb Cake
350 degrees
8" square pan, buttered
Crumb mixture
5 T. unsalted butter, room temp
1/4 cup sugar (I use C&H Baker's sugar, ultrafine)
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Put all ingredients, except the nuts, in food processor and pulse until mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed.
Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in nuts and press a piece of plastic against the surface.
Refrigerate until needed. (covered well, the crumb mix can be refrigerated for up to 3 days)
Cake mixture
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries (fresh is best, but frozen - not thawed- are ok)
2 cups, plus 2 t., all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cake spice, optional
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
6 T. unsalted butter, room temp
2 large eggs, room temp
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
Using your fingers, toss blueberries and 2 t. flour together in a small bowl, just to coat the berries; set aside.
Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, salt and the spices. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your
fingertips until sugar is moist and aromatic ---- ohhhhhh, it smells so good.
Add butter. Using the stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition.
Beat in vanilla extract. Batter may well look curdled -- not to worry.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately. Flour in 3 parts and buttermilk in 2 parts. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.
With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.
Scrape batter into buttered pan; smooth top gently with a spatula.
With fingertips, break crumb mixture into small crumb pieces. Scatter over the batter. Press them down, ever so slightly.
Place pan on a baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
Bake 55 to 65 minutes, or until crumbs are golden and cake tester inserted into center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack and cool.
My Notes:
Crumb mixture calls for a food processor. I don't have a formal food processor. I have the original food processor ---- my hands. I put all the ingredients except the nuts in a bowl, and just used my hands to get it all combined.
The sugar: regular sugar is fine to use. Awhile ago I read about using 'baker's sugar' which is ultrafine. Supposed to give a finer 'crumb', so I tried it, and it does. So now when I bake I generally use 'baker's sugar'.
Cake spice: strictly optional, not in the original recipe. I found the cake spice at my favorite spice store in Wauwatosa. I throw some into just about every recipe that calls for cinnamon and/or nutmeg. If you find cake spice, buy some. It adds just that little extra taste.
Buttermilk: I 'make' my own buttermilk. 1 T plain vinegar in a measuring cup, then fill the
measuring cup to 1 cup. Stir. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes. This is heresy to many bakers, but I am heresy-resistant. Now, if I knew I would be using lots of buttermilk in a short period of time, I'd buy a container of it. But, you'd probably still find me throwing it out after Mr. Restaurant Quality found it languishing in the back of the frig.
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