So I woke up this morning with the urge to bake. After working for almost 3 weeks solid, I finally got two day off and thought I would make good use of my free time.
I got a pile of raspberries from Coscto yesterday so I thought amonst other things I would try to make a coffee/crumb cake. So here is my process.
I took the recipe from the ‘Taste of Home - Best Baking Recipes’ cookbook, and modified it a bit to my liking (This book is still some of the best $5 I ever spent!)
First, you need about 2 cups of fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries. It does not matter if you have mush ones, just make sure you pick out any of the grose, or rotten ones.
In a medium sized pot/saucepan, add the 2 cups of raspberries with 2/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch (or if your stomach cannot handle cornstarch, you can use tapioca starch as a substitute) and 3/4 cup of water.
Bring the combination to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes or until thickened, it is very important to stir the mixture constantly or it could burn to the bottom of the pot! Once it is thickened, remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
The mixture will look something like this, allow it to fully cool.
In a large bowl, combine 3 cups all purpose flower, 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teasppon ground mace (Or in my case all spice)
Cut in 1 cup cold butter until mixture is crumbly. If you do not have a pastry blender a fork, wisk or your hands work well too.
In another bowl, beat 2 eggs, 1 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat until well mixed.
Add the wet mixture to your crumb mixture and mix well. Add milk, a small bit at a time if you think the mixture may be too sticky.
Spread two thirds of the batter into a greased 13-in by 9-in by 2-in (ish) baking dish.
Spoon raspberry filling over the top of the batter.
Top the raspberries with the remaining batter. (In my case my batter was too sticky and hard to spread)
For the topping – combine 1/2 cup all purppose flour, 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Cut in 1/4 cup cold butter. Mix until crumbly. At this point if you wish, you can add 1/4 cup sliced almonds, but I opted out.
This recipe made me realize how much I do need a pastry blender.
Sprinkle the mixture over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean and top is lightly browned.
With the gooey raspberry centre, it can be hard to tell. Use your best judgement and pray the cake comes out baked!
Allow cake to cool fully before you cut it.
Most importantly, enjoy!
Here’s the full recipe:
Raspberry Cumb Cake
2/3 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup cornstarch (or tapioca starch)
3/4 Cup water
2 Cups fresh (or frozen) unsweetened raspberries
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Cake
3 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup sugar
3 Teaspoons baking powder
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon ground mace (or allspice)
1 Cup cold butter
2 Eggs
1 Cup milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup cold butter
1/4 Cup sliced almonds
1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and raspberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, boil for 5 minutes or until thickened. Stirr constantly. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and mace. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. In another bowl beat the eggs, milk and vanilla. Add to crumb mixture and mix well. Spread two thirds of the batter into a greased 13in by 9in by 2in baking dish. Spoon raspberry filling over the top within 1in of edges. Top with remaining batter.
3. For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl. cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in almonds (optional). Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, and top is lightly browned.
