Chef On Call

Blueberry Crumb Cake

On Friday, I was reading Dorie Greenspan's excellent blog where she wrote about a blueberry breakfast cake. That got me thinking about her recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake from her book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Soft and flaky, with fresh blueberries bursting in each bite. I can't stop thinking about it. I made it yesterday morning with the idea of having it for dessert last night but by mid afternoon I couldn't resist any longer! My family came home to a beautiful crumb cake sitting on the counter, missing a big piece! I, of course claimed that I needed to sample it in the name of quality control! 

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

INGREDIENTS:

For the crumbs:
5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted this)

For the cake:
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
2 cups plus 2 tsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/4 orange
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 and place the rack at the middle position in the oven. Butter an 8-inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.
To make the crumbs: Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed. Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in the nuts and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface. Refrigerate until needed. (Covered well the crumb mix can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

To make the cake: Using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 tsp of the flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for about 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled — it will soon smooth out. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients.) You will have a thick, creamy batter. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.

Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Pull the crumb mix from the fridge and, with your fingertips, break it into pieces. There’s no need to try to get even pieces — these are crumbs, they’re supposed to be lumpy and bumpy and every shape and size. Scatter the crumbs over the batter, pressing them down ever so slightly.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.

What I'm Reading: The Art & Soul of Baking

I'm starting a new feature, "What I'm Reading". I am always reading cookbooks and trying out new recipes. My family and friends generally benefit from such endeavors (my kids don't always like it if the cookbook features unusual recipes or mushrooms!). Lately, I have been trying my hand at baking. You may have heard that cooks don't bake and bakers don't cook and I was definitely in the cooks don't bake camp. But I have decided to take on the baking challenge and I like it! My kids and their classmates like it. I even got to teach a cupcake class to my daughter's 2nd grade class.
Since I never used to bake, my cookbook collection included just one baking cookbook, Dorie Greenspan's, "Baking From my Home to Yours" (a great cookbook, by the way). Of course, I needed to fix that. Next thing I know, I have a shelf full of baking cookbooks. Now I am baking my way through and trying not to gain weight.
The book of the last few weeks is The Art & Soul of Baking by Sur La Table and Cindy Mushet.

With over 400 pages, there are so many delights to discover. There are recipes for every type of baked goods, both savory and sweet. It includes tips from the pros, basic pantry and equipment information and clear directions for more complicated recipes. Every time I open the book, I discover a new recipe I want to try. I have made the pizza crust, pie crust and a few other tasty treats. My favorite so far is the Apricot, Almond, and Chocolate Spiraled Coffee Cake.

The name coffee cake doesn't really do it justice as it so much more decadent than any coffee cake you have ever had.
Check it out and let me know what you think!

Cranberry Blueberry Buckle Muffins

 

I have been making this muffin recipe for years. My husband always requests it. It comes from Sheila Lukins' (of Silver Palate fame) U.S.A. cookbook from 1997! It has the perfect balance of sweet (from the blueberries) and tangy (from the cranberries and buttermilk). Sheila Lukins mentions in her headnote that she usually makes these in the winter with frozen blueberries. I do the opposite taking advantage of the wonderful blueberries at this time of year and making use of my stash of frozen cranberries from Thanksgiving. I always buy extra bags and freeze them.

A couple of tips: I mix the cranberries and blueberries in a small amount of the flour/sugar mix to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. One of the best gadget purchases I have made was to buy a couple of ice cream scoops in various sizes. They make quick work of getting the batter into the muffin pans and are great for making uniform cookies.

Cranberry Blueberry Buckle Muffins

Struesel Topping
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBS flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs butter, cut into little pieces

Batter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 400º. Grease or line with paper liners 12 regular muffin cups.

Prepare streusel topping: Place all the streusel ingredients in a food processor and process until the mixture has a sandy texture. Set aside.

Prepare the batter: Combine th flour, sugar, baking pwder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.

In another bowl, beat the egg. Add the buttermilk and melted butter and mix well.

Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then fold in the cranberries and blueberries.

Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full with the batter. Sprinkle each muffin with 2 teaspoons of the streusel topping. Bake in the center of the oven until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out just clean, about 30 minutes.

Cool the muffings in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then unmold them onto a rack to cool completely.

Black & White Cookies

Black & White cookies are absolutely my kids favorite cookies. They are a New York institution but I am unsure how popular they are outside of the Northeast. A few weeks ago, I found a recipe for Black & White cookies in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, I knew I had to make them. I thought it would be complicated but aside from having to ice them with a steady hand, making them was pretty straight forward, especially for a novice baker like myself. My son commented they were the best black and white cookies he had ever had. Pretty high praise! These cookies get better the next day.

This recipe has shortening in it. I have seen a couple of other recipes for these cookies without the shortening; just using butter. I think I will try one of those next.

BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES
from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large whole eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Black and White Icings (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, shortening, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes,scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add whole eggs and egg yolk, one at a time; beat until combined after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the cream. Beat until just combined (do not overmix).

Use a 1/4 cup measure ( I used an ice cream scoop) to scoop dough 3 inches apart onto prepared sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the edges just begin to turn golden and the centers are cakey and tender, 10 to 12 minutes (mine took 15- 17 minutes). Transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from parchment and let cool completely.

On the flat side (bottom) of each cookie, use a small offset spatula to spread cholocalte icing over oe half of the cookie, creating a line straight down the center. Spread white frosting on the other half. Set cookies aside until icing is set, about 30 minutes.

Black and White Icing

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder

Whisk sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl until smooth. Add more water, if needed, until mixture is slightly thicker than honey. Set aside half of sugar mixture (for white icing). Stir cocoa into remaining sugar mixture to combine (for black icing); thin with water if needed. Use immediately.