5/18/10

raspberry-cream cheese crumb cake


I know I've been a bit m.i.a lately, but the weather's been so gorgeous around here, and I have a new house that needs all that spring stuff-a-mah-doo done to it. Amazing how having a house just literally sucks up the time, day AND MONEY!
So this recipe, well, I first set out to create a raspberry or strawberry cream cheese muffin. I wanted the middle of the muffins to have a lot of good creamy-fruity stuff in them. It was a fail, not up to my standards. I might give it another go at some point. Instead I came up with another crumb cake recipe (I hope ya'll aren't tried of my crumb cakes by now....I see a cookbook theme here "365 crumb cakes, a crumb cake a day..."
I don't have to tell you that this cake was a huge cake right? I mean it didn't even last a day in this house. Poor crumb cake didn't know what it had coming to his sexy, yummy, buttery, fruity, crumbly self. But you know what else? This cake is actually a danish imposter; a danish posing as a crumbcake. Shhhh....don't tell anyone, they'll all be doing it.


raspberry-cream cheese crumb cake
print recipe

Cake:
¼ cup canola oil, plus more for pan
½ stick unsalted butter, melted
2 TB sour cream
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
½ cup + 2 TB granulated white sugar
1 ts baking powder
½ ts coarse salt
1 large egg
½ cup + 2 TB half & half
2 ts pure vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:
1 cups flour
1 cups packed light brown sugar
¾ ts coarse salt
½ TB ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

Cook notes: the batter is very thin. It rises a bit when baking. This crumb cake bakes very fast! So please make sure to check it at the 25 minute mark. It will be hard to see if it’s done with all the layers on there, so use a cake tester to check cake layer. The coulis can be made a couple days ahead of time and stored in fridge until ready to use. It is optional, but wonderful to add in a couple tablespoons of the coulis into your cream cheese mixture.

raspberry coulis:
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 TB granulated sugar, or to taste
1 TB fresh lemon juice, or to taste

For the coulis:
Put all the ingredients in medium sauce pan and cook over medium (not high!) heat until fruit is mostly dissolved and mixture has reduced a bit as well as thickened up; about 30 minutes or more. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pushing down on the solids. You might have to let this sit for a while to finish draining—it takes a while. Don’t forget to scrape off the bottom side of the sieve for all the juicy, thickened pulp. Discard the seeds. Taste and add more sugar or lemon juice if needed; it shouldn’t need anything. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the crumb topping:
In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients, pour melted butter over mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Set aside

Cream cheese mixture
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp.
1 large egg yolk
3 TB white sugar
1 TB fresh lemon zest
2 TB or more of the coulis (optional, but wonderful)

For the cream cheese mixture:
Mix all in a bowl (really well) until ready to use.
For cake:
Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 350°.
Lightly butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and dust with flour, and tap to remove excess. (I’ve also used the Pam with Flour and it worked just fine). Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together 2 ¼ cups flour, add in the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, butter, half & half, canola oil, sour cream, and vanilla.

Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into wet mixture.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside. (to keep batter from sticking to your hand or spoon, just wet or oil your fingers or a spoon and spread evenly throughout pan).

The batter should be about half an inch high. It will cook/rise to an inch thick. (Don’t worry if the batter is very thin and hard to get into the corners, it does spread out as it’s cooking). Use wet fingers to push batter into corners.
Next put on the cream cheese mixture either in one single layer, clumps or vertical lines. You can make swirls if you want too, I did not.
Next add on the crumbs. Then drizzle on the coulis (if it helps put the coulis in a pastry bag and draw lines).
Then transfer pan to oven, and bake for 14 minutes, rotate pan. Then cook another 10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Check cake at 25 minute mark for sure. Let cake cool and set up before slicing.
Using a serrated knife or bench scraper, cut into 3-inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 2-4 days.

56 comments:

  1. Cake > muffins. Beautiful. Wish I could have a slice!

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  2. These are the kind of treats on the display case that I always press my nose up against. Love berries plus cream cheese. Best combo ever (though peanut butter-choc lovers will disagree).

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  3. Wow! This looks gorgeous Dawn! And there is fruit in there too...bonus! Yeah, tell me about home ownership woes...I almost miss being a renter, at least as a renter I could afford to go on vacation.

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  4. I really should stop visiting your blog... I'll gain 10 pounds just for looking :P

    Everything looks delicious!

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  5. I am loving everything about this cake!

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  6. Oh!My!Goodness!

    This looks incredible. Everything you post has me drooling! I can't wait to try this!

    xxMK
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  7. You make the crumb-y-est cakes! Thank godnees too! This one I think tops them all, it is very pretty.

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  8. Woman - you kill me! This literally is my favorite kind of dessert. Nicely done.

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  9. sweet and the rasberry give a nice colour to the cake , must try it!

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  10. ooh, crumbcake. i like the idea of 365 of them. i want to eat it!

    glad you've been out enjoying the nice weather :) good luck with all the house-stuff!

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  11. This cake is so pretty! Love the combination of cream cheese and berries...heaven!

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  12. This is a really beautiful cake, Dawn. I really love the raspberry coulis.

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  13. Maravilloso. Tomo nota de tu pastel

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  14. I just loved sweetened cream cheese, add in rasbperries and the crumb? wow. when i saw this i giggled because I just baked something so similar that I could taste yours because I just finished mine for breakfast. Great pictures... see you next time

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  15. I want this right now. Please!? I'll come help you with your pool. Promise!

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  16. Love all the color and texture from the top of it--soft cake, crunchy crumble, sweet raspberry, soft cream cheese. Fun one to eat!

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  17. I love crumb cakes, so no. You could never have too many for me! Especially with the raspberry filling. So good.

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  18. Holy wow... I want this cake NOW! :)

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  19. Yum! Wonderful combo! How I wish the weather here is good too.

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  20. um yeah..I am pretty sure It wouldnt last a half day in my house!!!! Sooooo yummy dawn. I think you should make your 365 crumb cake book! Oh yeah

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  21. the more crumb cake recipes in this world, the better. raspberries and sweet cream cheese make an awesome combo, and i think i like this better than muffins anyway--the topping-to-cake ratio is much better this way. :)

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  22. i think these kinda cakes are my favorite - they remind me of those entenmann's cakes my piano teacher was obsessed with when i was a kid. jam and crumbs and cream cheese = yum.

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  23. Yum! Doesn't get much better than this!! Love, love, love crumb cake!

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  24. Could this be more amazing...hmmm...probably not!

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  25. Another beautiful and delectable dessert! I'd love a piece with a great cup of coffee! :)

    xoxo

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  26. So pretty! I was hoping for your mountain high crumbs though.. hehe!

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  27. Ohh yum, this looks divine. Great for an afternoon treat

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  28. Can I have this as my pre-travel meal?

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  29. I have such a weakness for crumb cakes--especially with gorgeous fruit and cream cheese. I want this.

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  30. raspberry cream cheese yum!

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  31. That looks amazing. Anything with cream cheese seems to capture my fancy lately, though. I'm thinking rhubarb would be the perfect addition to the mix, since it's in season (and it LOVES raspberries).

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  32. anything that doesn't last a day is added to my must-make list! YUM!

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  33. Perfect for sunny days ahead. I could eat this morning, noon and night! ;)

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  34. Oh, the guys at work will love this!

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  35. Kind of glad the muffins didn't work out 'cause this cake is gorgeous.
    And what a fun idea for a book. It could be one a week instead of one a day....Friday Crumb Cakes.

    Definitely trying this; in fact I am going to the store to get some raspberries so I can make it this afternoon!

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  36. Very decadent cake! Love the colour :)

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  37. Another amazing creation. Looks totally delicious.

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  38. You certainly know the way to my heart... gorgeous!

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  39. Ooo, this sounds so good with raspberry coulis! Yum!

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  40. oh yum! nothing like a good cheesy crumb cake for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

    BTW, I left you a comment about the pineapple crumb cake you have on this blog. I didn't see a recipe for it, do you mind sharing?

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  41. There is nothin' crumby about your crumb cakes, keep 'em coming. GREG

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  42. My husband says lets move to an apartment all the time because of those very reasons.

    I can see why it did not last a day at your house. It looks totally scumptious.

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  43. This looks wonderful. I love cakes that also work as breakfast. This would be so yummy with a big cup of coffee.

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  44. This is a great cake to eat at all times of the day, for breakfast, for sure and then 4 PM snacking and tea!

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  45. I'll take this instead of muffins. Yes indeed. We're buying a house...thanks for the headsup!
    ~ingrid

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  46. Oh My God! I am so printing this out for my wife to make. I hate you, teasing me so. I am going to try it out with sugar substitute and let you know how it goes. Oh, the horror!

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  47. That cake looks so amazingly good!

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  48. Oh wow! That looks absolutely delicious :)

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  49. those kind of cakes are very popular in Poland, in particular in summertime (I hope we will enjoy summer in Europe this year !)

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  50. hi,

    i love your blog, juste a question, can i use my 13*9 glass pan for your rasberry crumb cake? and can you give me how much i need for expresso for your banana expresso crum cake, i dont have starbucks via
    thank you so much

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  51. meryem:
    i would say using glass might be ok, just grease and flour it up really good so nothing sticks.
    with espresso, if you have no via's then use espresso powder, maybe 1 ts. taste test, and see if it needs more before you bake.

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  52. I'm not sure what I did, but the cake part did not rise, it just turned into a soft crust. Which was good as well, but I'd like to know how to make it rise so it's a crumb cake not a crust cake :)

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    Replies
    1. Hmm. Well first off, the cake part doesn't rise all that much, maybe 1/2 an inch (as you can tell by 2nd photo). So its not that thick.
      But maybe your baking powder is old? I know when I've used baking powder that was left uncovered or old it does not rise.
      I do find that I have to change my baking powder at least once every 2 months. Which is odd.
      Do you live in a high altitude area? That might be something too.

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  53. Yum! This looks delicious! I'm making it today for my holiday table. Thanks for a great recipe! Kristi @ http://www.cherryjasmine.com.

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  54. This looks AMAZING - wow. And I have some cream cheese in the fridge... ;)

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