Saturday, February 26, 2011

Blueberry-Lemon Cheese Crumbcake



“Eye seeeeee you.” said Cake. “Look into my strange blueberry eyes. I’m alive! Now, let me tell you a story. The world was first inhabited by cake, not by monkeys. Then evil humans came and ate us to near extinction! How cruel this world….”

“Oooo Cake! MUNCH! Chomp, chew… Wait; did you have something important to say Cake? Oh, never mind. I guess I’ll just eat the rest of you now.”

At least, that’s how I imagined it went. I suppose I could have edited out the blueberry “eyes”, but they made me laugh. So of course, I left them in the picture.

Poor tasty cake.

Blueberry-Lemon Cheese Crumbcake
Printer Version
I adore Beth Hensperger’s recipes but loath reading long convoluted instructions. I’ve separated the recipe into steps making it easier to follow for us short attention span types.


Cheese Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (optional, but makes cake more flavorful)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a dark metal pan). Grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

2. In a medium-large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and flour until smooth. Set aside.

Crumb Topping
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (Can be half whole wheat pastry flour, if desired.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork or your fingers until coarse crumbs are formed. Set aside.

Cake
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups (1 pint) fresh or frozen blueberries

1. In a bowl with a wooden spoon, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

3. Spread the batter into the pan, building up the sides slightly. Sprinkle the surface with half of the blueberries. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top and sprinkle with the rest of the blueberries. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top and press it gently into the cake.

4. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until the edges are golden-brown and the crumb topping is golden. If the crumb topping doesn’t brown, broil it for a couple of minutes at the end but watch closely as it can quickly burn.

Recipe from “The Best Quick Breads”, by Beth Hensperger. Picture by Laura Flowers.


30 comments:

Unknown said...

LOL
This is a really pretty cake, love the look of it and I would totally eat it even if it stared at me.

Unknown said...

Lovely cake! I love blueberry and this really looks delicious! I will have to try it.

notyet100 said...

cake looks too good,..happy weekend

Joanne said...

I wonder how vegetarians would feel about eating this now that you've anthropomorphized it. Lemon and blueberry are classically delicious together. This looks so tasty!

Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction said...

Wow... I love all of the flavors in this. I have been on a huge lemon kick lately, so I'll definitely give this a try!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

I used to love long, drawn-out, precise directions, but now I prefer to just cut to the chase. Thanks for simplifying for us - this cake looks phenomenal.

Chef Bee said...

I keep looking at the picture of this cake hoping it will come to life on my plate. Wow!

Plan B

Monica said...

This morning I made two kinds of muffins: blueberry and lemon. I even thought about combining the two but I didn't know if the flavors would be good together...well now I know!

The Atwoods said...

You are so funny!! :) This looks delicious -- I love blueberry and lemon together...such a perfect pair!

natasha {schue love} said...

Yummmm!!! Looks delicious!

Pink Little Cake said...

This cake looks amazing. I like the fact that you separated the ingredients and instructions for us, I am in the slow category

scrambledhenfruit said...

Those beady little blueberry eyes would be the first to go. No mercy. That cake would not last long here- it's wonderful!

Anonymous said...

This cake looks decadent, dense, and downright delightful. Just the way I like it! Great recipe!

Boulder Locavore said...

This sound just plain good. Such bright flavors.

Amee said...

perfect way to celebrate the onset of spring!! (we start a little early here in Texas!) :)

Cat said...

Wow, that cake makes for a lovely presentation and it looks, well, good enough to eat (okay, devour and go back for seconds :))

Jannett said...

One should not look on blogs before breakfast... you just want to eat and eat.... The photos are wonderful and the cheesecake..well...may I have a slice ... :o)

VegeCooking Club said...

I know I would LOVE this cake because blueberries and cream cheese are some of my favorites when it comes to dessert.

Anonymous said...

I know, it's sleeting here right now... is winter ever going to end??

Unknown said...

OHhhhhhhh blueberry and lemon. It looks so good.

The Atwoods said...

Laura -- You won my giveaway!!! :) Send me an e-mail and I'll get the Pioneer Woman Book to you. My e-mail is rlmartin85@gmail.com

Congrats, girl!

Holly said...

WOOOOW! This looks absolutely deevine even with the "strange blueberry Eyes" ;)

FamilySpice said...

Yum blueberries and cake! Is it summer yet?!!

Monet said...

Hi lady! This looks so very good. I know what I'm making Saturday morning. Are you still coming to Austin? Let me know your plans :-) Thanks for sharing, sweet woman. I hope you have a great Wednesday. Happy Hump Day!

Anonymous said...

The looks unreal! So Yummy!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Blueberry and cream cheese are one of those combinations that I could never get tired of. What a delicious cake you've created, Laura!

Sue said...

Let's see...a cross between a cheesecake and a cake with crumb topping, AND lemon and blueberry?!? WOW, Laura. Amazing!

Val said...

Hey Laura, I've been looking at your blog for a while now and I find it really interesting & fun! You have great recipes and pictures and this is one of my favorites.
I would like to try this recipe and post it in my blog, and also link to your blog, are u ok with it?
I'm just starting in the food blog world and you have inspired me a lot.

Thanks,
V

Rene said...

Does this need to be refrigerated? I'd love to take it on a trip with me, would it last for a day or 2 in an air conditioned room? Thanks for the great recipe!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Rene,

It should be kept cold because of the cream cheese. Can you wrap it up well in plastic and stick it in a cooler?

I'm glad you like the recipe.

Laura

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