Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Tuesdays with Dorie—Blueberry Crumb Cake

Blueberry Crumb CakeI love a good coffee cake, and this blueberry crumb cake doesn't disappoint. First there's the crunch and spice in the topping before hitting the moist crumb of the cake.
Meaning of crumb cake: Cake or coffee cake topped with a mixture of sugar and butter and flour
— from Link
I decided to bake my "coffee cakes" in little espresso cups. After a quick spritz with cooking spray, I baked them for 25-30 minutes.

On a side note, today marks one year of TWD posts. My first was last March 24th, which was one of my favorites: Caramel-topped Flan. I've learned a lot this past year about baking and community, and I've made many friends through this group. Thanks, Laurie, for starting this amazing baking sensation!

Recipe

Makes 8 servings (8x8 pan)


Ingredients for Blueberry Crumb Cake
For the Crumbs:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

For the Cake:
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
2 cups plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of ½ lemon or ¼ orange
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

You can find the recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or here. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Sihan from Befuddlement who chose the recipe for this week.

Blueberry Crumb CakeTasting Notes
Any cake with extra sugar and spice in each bite is a winner with me.

Recipe for Next Week (March 31)
Coconut Butter Thins on pages 145 chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch.

Other Crumb Cakes
• Nicole from Baking Bites: New York Crumb Cake
• Peabody from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody: Banana Fosters Crumb Cake
• Rebecca from Ezra Pound Cake: Pear Crumb Cake with Candied Ginger Streusel

Giveaway

Green Valley Pecan Company sent me two ½-pound bags of pecans cultivated near Tucson, Arizona. I used them in this Blueberry Crumb Cake, and they're tasty. I'm giving away one of the bags they sent me. To enter to win, all you need to do is comment on this post. On Sunday, March 29 at noon EST, I’ll randomly select a winner from all the comments that have been submitted. I will email the winner (so make sure you leave your email in the comment) and announce the lucky person in next week's Tuesdays with Dorie post.

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  • 54 comments:

    Cathy said...

    I am in love with your crumb cakes baked in those little espresso glasses. They are adorable and elegant. One espresso glass of crumb cake and one espresso glass of espresso would be the perfect afternoon snack in my book!

    Irene said...

    Pecans are awesome, coffee cake is awesome, but together, it sounds heavenly!

    Elyse said...

    Shari! I love how you made these little cakes in the glass mugs. They look totally fabulous! Yummy!

    Jules Someone said...

    I love that you baked them in individual cups! We really enjoyed this recipe.

    Anonymous said...

    Woah! That's awesome! Looks delicious. I think I need to find this cookbook. It seems to have some wonderful recipes.

    Michelle said...

    Very cute!

    Anonymous said...

    Shari -
    That looks fantastic! I love your presentation in the glasses.

    Anonymous said...

    How pretty!

    Anonymous said...

    I love that they're baked in the glasses. They look so lovely and inviting. I want some please.

    Anonymous said...

    Wonderful photos!

    Elle said...

    Shari, they're just adorable! I love the different things you use to bake goodies in--very creative!

    Unknown said...

    How wonderfully creative!

    Maria said...

    The cake is so cute in the little cups! I bet the pecans are really tasty. Great giveaway!

    vibi said...

    Ah! HA! I see creativity peeking on the horizon! ...perhaps after being naping for a while?

    The idea of baking them in cups is ingenious and totaly whimsical... now if you could make coffee in a pan, everything would be perfect! LOL

    natalia said...

    The espresso cake is just fabulous !!

    Nama said...

    I love pecans. And I love your recipes.

    Mary Ann said...

    You are the most creative person, I swear. Your little espresso glass crumb cakes might just be the cutest thing I have seen. Great job!
    I got some of those pecans too. I am sure they were wonderful in the crumbs.

    chocolatechic said...

    I love how you baked these in cups.

    doughmesstic said...

    Gorgeous in those mugs! Now win me some pecans! Didyou see that you won the smile henry pie dish?? You need to get me your info!

    Unknown said...

    How cute are those little espresso glasses? The cakes look wonderful :)

    Anonymous said...

    I have to agree with everyone. The espresso glasses are gorgeous. I used almonds in mine, but pecans are lovely, too!

    Engineer Baker said...

    Happy TWD anniversary! I'm so glad you joined, because I love reading about what you're cooking and baking. Brilliant idea to use espresso cups, they're too adorable!

    Anonymous said...

    I love that you baked them in espresso cups. They look fantastic!

    Audrey said...

    I agree - adorable! (And happy TWD birthday! I love this group.)

    Ivette said...

    I totally love coffee cakes too and thought this one was an amazing one! Your little espresso cakes look wonderful! BTW..
    Happy Anniversary!

    Anonymous said...

    the best thing about baking them in little mugs like this is you get to eat them way faster. congrats on one year of twd! )

    Anonymous said...

    Wowee. Nicely done and a very merry one year to you!

    Sippity Sup said...

    wow! People seem to really like this! I like it too. GREG

    Amanda said...

    Gorgeous! Yours looks so good! We loved this cake :)

    Anonymous said...

    Your cakes look so cute in the espresso cups! What a great idea.

    Banjo said...

    What a fun way to bake them! Love it...

    Anonymous said...

    hiya, i used pecans too! weren't they great? you cakes look precious in those little cups. love it!

    happy anniversary!

    Passionate Baker said...

    wow...in espresso cups??
    thats awessssome.
    very creative as well.
    your cakes looks adorable!
    greeaaat job

    Flourchild said...

    Sweet looking cake..love the one in the glass cup..so nice and tasty looking. I thought this recipe was soooo good!

    Monica H said...

    I love that you always put a new spin on things. Coffee cakes in coffe cups- genius and so cute!

    Tami said...

    You are very clever. I love the cake in a cup!

    Happy Anniversary!

    NKP said...

    I love that you baked these in little cups! (I am totally stealing your idea!!)

    Half Baked said...

    How pretty! Great idea to bake them in the little cup. This would be so cute for a spring brunch!

    Linda said...

    Congrats on your TWD 1 yr anniversary Shari! I loved reading your blog for the past year --- it's been a real treat. :)

    I love your creativity with the presentation of this cake!

    Anonymous said...

    Very neat! This was a very tasty recipe, too.

    Anonymous said...

    Putting them in those cups were such a cute idea!

    pam said...

    They are so cute in those cups!

    Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

    You are alwasy so stinkin creative!! Adorable little "cup"cakes! :)

    steph- whisk/spoon said...

    a very happy TWD anniversary to you! don't those cakes look so cute baked in cups?!? i love them!

    grace said...

    they are good pecans, aren't they! and like everyone else, i'm really a fan of your mug usage. great cakes!

    Julie said...

    I just love that baked in those little cups like that!

    The Food Librarian said...

    You are tooooo creative! You have the best use of containers! So cute and yummy!!!

    Anonymous said...

    Wow - a year already? You always have such great pictures and of course I love Whisk Wednesdays.

    Liz :) said...

    Hi!!! I recently bought Doris Greenspan's book, so am very keen to read the reviews and hear about other people's baking experiences! Does this cake keep well if you bake it the day before? Thanks! :)

    Creative Classroom Core said...

    Such a great idea! What a cool presentation! Thanks for sharing!

    TeaLady said...

    Those look fantastic, delicious, adorable What a great idea. I would have been afraid to use my cups like that. Glad someone did. And the pecans made mine just right. Would love some more, even tho' I live in the south - Pecan Heaven.

    kimberly salem said...

    i love those little cups -- especially the glass, since you can see the yummy blueberries! awesome :)

    Cherry Blossom said...

    What a beautiful idea -i love it....Thanks so much

    Two fit and fun gals said...

    i love how you've stuffed them into a clear cup thats brilliant presentation!