Recipe of the Week; BLUEBERRY CRUMB CAKE

Summer just naturally makes me crave berries of all sorts. Growing up, we lived amongst wild blueberry patches, and I remember Mom and I taking our pails into the woods where we would find bush after bush of the little plump berries. We would spend the early morning hours tediously picking (and munching), and we'd bring home berries by the bucketload.

She used them for all sorts of goodies, like blueberry preserves and pies. And of course we had handfuls to toss in our breakfast cereal or use to cook up some flapjacks.

I haven't been able to pick any fresh berries lately, but luckily they're in abundance around here at local fruit stands and in the supermarket. I picked up a pint of berries last week, some of which I used in this delicious cake recipe I got from one of my favorite chefs- Ina Garten.

I tweaked mine ever-so-slightly; her streusel doesn't call for oats but I really like the texture it added. Also, I didn't have any lemons on hand, so I added a small splash of lemon concentrate instead. The recipe suggests unsalted butter, but I used sweet cream butter and it turned out fine. I just reduced the amount of salt it calls for.

It was a great Saturday morning treat, perfect with my morning tea on a sweet summer morning. Unless you just don't like blueberries, you cannot be disappointed with this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

For the streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)

(if you choose to not use oats, add an extra cup of flour)

For the cake:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the butter, then the flour and oats. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low, adding the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on high speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Toss about a tablespoon of flour to the blueberries and mix gently. Add the berries to the batter, fold gently through the batter with a spatula to ensure that the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting. Serve sprinkled with confectioners sugar, if desired.