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Summer Berry Cake (#The Cake Slice Bakers)

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Summer Berry Cake

The end of Summer is coming, which means the end of those great Summer fruits – peaches, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries. I’ll miss them all (moment of silence).

That’s why I appreciate this month’s Cake Slice Baker selection, Summer Berry Cake from Benjamina Ebuehi’s wonderful cookbook, The New Way to Cake. Benjamina gives the baker free reign on which fruits to use to pile on this wonderful marscapone frosting-topped genoise.

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Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake

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Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson is a popular cookbook full of a wonderful combination of all kinds of different cake recipes (layer, cupcakes, rolls, angel, bundt, etc.).

This Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake, published by Brown-Eyed Baker, is slightly adapted from Vintage Cakes (only the amount of berries is changed).

Berry Crumb Cake

It’s a coffee-cake-ish cake loaded with macerated berries and sprinkled with a buttery crumb topping. The cornmeal in it gives it an interesting crunch which I rather like.

It reminds me of sweet cornbread, just not quite as corn-mealy. Then you top it with a ton of those vanilla soaked (or brandy soaked, your choice) berries and it becomes a substantial, delicious cake.

Berry Crumb Cake

Berry Crumb Cake

Make sure and get that crumb topping very crumbly. I left a few big butter pockets and it results in pools of butter floating around while the cake is baking. Not to worry, it soaked it after it cooled, but it’s probably best to blend that butter in a little better.

My topping was more flat than crumbly, but good otherwise!

I won’t use candied ginger in the topping again as I don’t care for the bursts of ginger through it. That’s entirely subjective, though – you might like it.

We enjoyed this cake (the royal ‘We’ since Bret doesn’t like berries). It’s good for dessert, breakfast or a snack!

Berry Crumb Cake

Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake

Yield: 9
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Spongy coffee cake loaded with macerated berries and a crumb topping. The corn meal gives it an interesting texture.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. berries (about 5-6 cups), washed and patted dry, (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and/or chopped strawberries)
  • 1/2 C (3 1/2 oz) sugar
  • 2 tbsp vanilla (or brandy if desired)
  • Topping:
  • 1/3 C (2 1/2 oz) firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 C (1 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 C (1 1/2 oz) diced candied ginger
  • 4 tbsp (2 oz) butter, almost room temperature, cut into very small cubes
  • Cake:
  • 1 1/2 C (7 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C (2 3/4 oz) fine cornmeal
  • 1/2 C (3 1/2 oz) sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp (3 oz) butter, cut into very small cubes
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 C milk ( I used 2%)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 2 to 2 1/2 quart baking dish (or 9" square pan) and set aside.
  2. Put the berries into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar and vanilla until all berries are coated. Set aside, but stir occasionally.
  3. For the topping: Combine the sugar, flour, and ginger into a small bowl. Blend the butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingertips or a fork, until the mixture forms crumbs. Don't leave big blobs of butter - make sure it's blended in. Put the topping bowl into the freezer until ready to use.
  4. For the cake: Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use your fingertips to work it completely into the dry ingredients.
  5. In a separate small bowl, whisk the eggs together, then stir them into the dry ingredients until just combined and there are no more pockets of flour (don't overmix).
  6. Spread the thick batter into the prepared dish. Drain the berries if there's excess liquid, and spoon the berries evenly on top of the batter. Remove the crumble topping from the freezer and scatter it evenly on top of the berries.
  7. Bake for 40-45 minutes. It will be hard to tell when to take it out because of the juicy berry/buttery crumble topping, but do not bake it over 45 minutes (or it will be dry).
  8. Remove from the oven and place the cake on a wire rack to cool. It's best after cooled. Store well-wrapped at room temperature or in the refrigerator. If refrigerating, microwave the pieces of cake for 20-25 seconds in the microwave to get best texture before serving.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I used less than a pound of berries (about 4 cups) because that's what I had.

Be sure and mix the butter into the crumb topping until it's crumbs.  I left some big blobs of butter and they made a couple of big puddles on top of the cake while it was cooking.

Next time I won't use the candied ginger in the topping.  I didn't particularly care for biting into the little ginger pieces. 

I put a cookie sheet on the rack underneath the cake while it was baking.  Mine didn't bubble over, but if you use the entire 1 lb. of berries, it might. 

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 259Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 398mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 3gSugar: 24gProtein: 6g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Julie Richardson (Vintage Cakes)
Category: Cakes