Blueberry Crumb Cake

This week I bought blueberries on sale.  The Picky Apple likes blueberry muffins (which surprises me a little), so I thought I’d make muffins for him to take to work.  Unless I bake him something tasty (like Banana Crunch Muffins) for breakfast, he typically skips it.  I’ve tried a few different blueberry muffin recipes from various cookbooks I own, but still haven’t settled upon a go-to recipe.  While searching for a new recipe to try, I ran across this recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake.  I had all of the ingredients (or an easy substitution) on hand.  This crumb cake turned out perfectly, and The Picky Apple gave it two thumbs up.  Allspice gives the cake a slightly more complex flavor than basic cinnamon, and the cake is not overly sweet.  I think this could easily be converted to muffins, which I may try next time I make this.

 Blueberry Crumb Cake

from Everyday Food

Serves 9

Ingredients:

For the streusel topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter

For the cake:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice  (See Picky Apple Note, below)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup buttermilk  (See Picky Apple Note, below)
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make streusel topping: Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan. Make the topping: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender until large, moist crumbs form. Chill.
2. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until just combined. (Batter will be very stiff.) In a large bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 teaspoon flour. Fold blueberries into the batter; spoon into prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle cake with streusel topping. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before cutting into squares.

Picky Apple Notes:

• Allspice is actually its very own berry, not a combination of others spices.  However, if you find yourself without allspice on hand as I did, simply use equal parts ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground clove, and black pepper.
• I also used a simple substitution for buttermilk: Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of milk, and let sit for 10 minutes.  I used this substitution for my Red Velvet Cupcakes as well.

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