blueberry monster-crumb cake

I'm a little too excited over crumb cake tonight. 

I mean -- it's crumb cake.

And, yet, I'm on the verge of using Internet chat acronyms to convey how much I love this cake.

Acronyms or sound effect words. (Yes. Onomatopoeia...what a stupid word. I hate myself for typing it. I should backspace.)

I won't use chat lingo or sound words. I really dislike them both.

But...seriously. 

This cake smells like pie when you bake it.

Pie and cake. (Please imagine a yummy-moan sound here.) 

I love this crumb cake.

If you only bake one crumb cake EVER -- this should be it.

It's got everything.

Monster crumb topping. Fat crumbs and little globes and coconut and almonds -- all buttery and crunchy.

Soft and moist pound cake with golden edges. Nothing like the stuff you buy in stores.

And 3 cups of blueberries tucked away in the middle. Yeah -- they get a layer all to themselves. So awesome! 

Also, this is another cool use for the springform -- one of my favorite pans.

This blueberry crumb cake (and that lemony cream butter cake) is reason enough to buy one.

The pan is actually fun to use - it let's you do a layered cake like this one without inverting a thing.

Like a baker's cheat. (I fully realize that I totally sound like a giddy salesman right now and I still can't stop myself. This pan is cool. See. Again. I go on and on.)

About this cake (again).

It's breakfast.

Or brunch, if you do such things.

And it's definitely dessert, too. 

(Imagine another yummy sound. Like a "Young Frankenstein"-ish yummy sound. Lots of monster Mmmmms.)

Blueberry Coconut Crumb Cake

adapted from Nick Malgieri's Bake!: Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking

for crumb topping 

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (or 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
• 1/4 chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

In medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the almonds and coconut. With a rubber spatula, mix in the butter until mixture is moist. Pack the mixture down into the bowl with the spatula. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

for the cake

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or heaped 1/4 teaspoon kosher, my fave)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9" springform pan with vegetable spray. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper to remove the cake from the bottom pan for serving. Spray or lightly grease parchment, if using.

Set springform pan on a low-rimmed baking sheet (to catch any butter that may drip out of the bottom).

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, beat together for about 30 seconds.

Add butter and beat on low until no butter is visible, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape down bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla.

Add 1/3 of egg mixture to flour mixture and beat on low until combined. Beat on medium for 1 minute. Repeat this step twice. 

Then beat the mixture on medium for 2 more minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth evenly out to the edges. 

Sprinkle blueberries evenly acrosss the top of the batter (I took the berries all the way to the edges). 

Break the crumb topping into big chunks (don't break it up too much -- crumbs will vary in size, but leave big chunks in there, too!) and sprinkle evenly across the blueberries.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (mine took 1 hour).

Allow to cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a butter knife around the edges of the cake to free any berries or cake that may be stuck to the sides. Unsnap side of pan and allow to cool on rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature for breakfast, brunch or dessert. 

Comments

[Laura Dembowski]

Yum, is about all I have to say. Love the addition of coconut in the topping. I love coconut, but have never thought to do that. So, let's say I don't have a springform pan yet; is there any other kind of pan I can use?

[blackjack bakehouse]

Thanks, Laura!

I haven't tried another pan with this cake yet, but I think you could probably get away with using an 8x8 square pan (or 9x9). You will need to increase the baking time because the cake will be a bit deeper (the 8x8 is smaller in volume than the 9" springform).

Also, you'll want to line the 8x8 with foil so that the foil hangs over the edges. These will act as "handles" for you to easily lift the cake out for serving purposes. I found a cool pan conversion chart and tips on allrecipes -- http://allrecipes.com/howto/cake-pan-size-conversions/. Hope this helps!

[Cheryl]

i just found this recipe on yur site and it looks wonderful. i can't do regular wheat flour, can I substitute almond flour?

[blackjack bakehouse]

Hi Cheryl -- I haven't really experimented with gluten-free recipes, so I'm not sure how much almond flour can replace the white flour in this recipe. I found an article on substituting almond flour in baked goods at ehow (http://www.ehow.com/how_6175736_replace-almond-flour-white-flour.html). I'd love to find out how it goes! Good luck!