Crumbs & Crusts with Ek Cuppa Chai

I am currently devouring this book called " Watermelon" by Marian Keyes. I will share with you an excerpt from the book. It goes like this " I never lost my appetite, no matter what the occasion exam nerves, job interviews, wedding day jitters, food poisoning- nothing short of death made the slightest difference to my ability to eat like a race horse. Whenever I met a thin person who would trill,  'Oh, silly old me, I simply forget to eat,' I would stare at them with ill concealed bafflement and bitterness, feeling unglamarous and lumpy and bovine. The lucky bitches, I would think, how could anyone forget to eat. I had an appetite - what an untrendy and shameful thing to have. Because when the world ends and we have shuffled off our mortal coils and we are all in heaven and time sizes to exist and we are pure of spirit and have an eternal life, which we will spend contemplating the almighty, I will still need a kitkat every morning at 11'o clock."

I was rolling with laughter after reading this. It was totally me.. I love food and yes I have an appetite and I am not ashamed of it. I love all kinds of food, the only criteria applicable for me is, it should taste good.

I have recently discovered my love for baking cakes. They go really well with my hot cuppa of coffee or chai!! Today while flipping through the net I came across this beautiful receipe of a  blueberry crumb cake. Even before trying it out myself I knew I had to put it down.

Blueberry Crumb Cake (Recipe from “Baking: From my Home to Yours“,by Dorie Greenspan)

The dominant flavor here is the berries. Don’t be tempted to increase the amount of walnuts in the topping — scarcity makes them even more delightful.

Ingredients

For the crumbs:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup chopped walnut                                                                                               

For the cake :

• 1 pint (2 cups) fresh blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
• 2 cups plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg(Jaiphal)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/4 orange
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Method

• Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8×8-inch pan (Pyrex is great for this) and put it on a lined 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 against the surface. Refrigerate until needed. (Covered well, the crumb mix can be refrigerated for about 3 days.)
• To make the cake batter: Using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 teaspoons of the flour together just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, the baking powder, 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, 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 refrigerator and, working with your fingertips, break it into pieces. There’s no need to try to get even pieces — these are crumbs and 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.
• Slide the sheet into the oven and bake 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a 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.
• Serving: Like all good coffee cakes, this needs nothing but coffee — or tea.
• Storing: Best served the day it is made, the cake can be wrapped well and kept overnight at room temperature.

Variations

• This batter works well with almost any kind of berry (except strawberries – they’re too watery) in place of or with the blueberries, as well as with slices or cubes of soft fruits, such as peeled peaches or nectarines, apricots or plums.

Bon Appetit!