Old-Fashioned Blueberry Crumb Cake
Imagine a little bakery in a small town, with an old grandmother that makes all the goodies by hand…………..well that’s what I picture when I take a bite of this cake! There’s just something so comforting about sweet blueberries and a crunchy crumb topping, don’t you agree?
As I always say, you can change this recipe up however you like! Peaches, blackberries, or apples would be great in this cake….you could also replace the lemon zest with orange zest and maybe sprinkle in a few mini chocolate chips. This cake recipe is so versatile that as soon as you get the recipe down, you’ll be throwing everything but the kitchen sink in!
Blueberry Crumb Cake (Ina Garten)
Cake:
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 c sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2/3 c sour cream
- 1 1/4 c flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c fresh blueberries
Streusel:
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/3 c packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
- 1 stick melted butter
- 1 1/3 c flour
Lemon Glaze:
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 c powdered sugar
This is a 9 inch spring-form pan. It’s usually used for making cheesecakes, but if you have one, use it now. It just makes it easier to get the cake and the topping out after the baking process. Butter and flour it.
Start by creaming together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is light. Make sure that the butter is at room temperature, it really contributes to the lightness of this cake.
Then, reduce the speed to low and add the eggs in one at time. Make sure that they are room temperature, also, otherwise you’ll have dense cake. Then, add the vanilla, sour cream, and lemon zest and mix on low until combined.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add into the batter on low speed until it is just combined.
Fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula, being careful not to over mix the batter.
Now make the crumble by combining the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Pour the melted butter over the top and stir in the flour.
Pour the batter into the spring-form pan and smooth it over with your spatula.
Then, crumble the topping on top with your hands.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Meanwhile, make the lemon glaze. Whisk together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. 
BTW, I used my mini whisk that I got for Christmas last year! LOVE that tool!:)
When the cake is done, take it out of the pan and let it cool on a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with the lemon glaze.
Meyer Lemon Curd Tart
Is there anything about lemons that doesn’t scream spring? I think NOT!
This dessert is so fresh and light, plus it’s a big hit with kids, too! The crust recipe is just a basic tart crust, and the Meyer lemon curd can be used anytime you need lemon curd.
Speaking of the curd, the recipe says to use “Meyer” lemons; don’t worry if you can’t find any, any kind of lemon will work!
Meyer Lemon Curd Tart (Anne Burrell)
Crust:
- 1 stick cold butter, cut into pea size pieces
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 egg yolk
- pinch of salt
- 2-4 tbsp. cold water
Meyer Lemon Curd:
- 5 Meyer lemons, juiced
- 3 Meyer lemons, zested
- 1 1/3 c sugar
- 5 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter, cut into pats
Garnish:
- 1 pint of blueberries
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tbsp. Meyer lemon juice
Combine the butter, flour, sugar, egg yolk, and salt in a food processor. You can do this by hand, but it’s much easier to use a food processor. You just want to pulse it until it develops into the “Parmesan Cheese” stage. (Until it looks like parmesan cheese:))
Then slowly pulse the water in until it sticks together. The amount of water you need may vary.
Dump the dough onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and shmear it forward with the heel of your hand. Pull it back with your fingertips and roll it into a ball. Try not to over-work or handle the dough too much, otherwise the butter will start to melt.
Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
When you take the dough out of the fridge, roll it to about 1/8-1/4 in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Just move the dough around every once in a while so that it doesn’t stick to your work surface.
Then, roll the dough up onto your rolling-pin, and un-roll it into a greased 10 in. tart pan. It’s alright if there’s a few rips or tears, you can just patch those up.
Push the dough into all the corners of the pan so that you have a nice, smooth tart. Then run your rolling-pin around the edges of the tart shell to remove all the excess dough.
Now this is where things get a little weird 
. Take a piece of aluminum foil and push it into the corners of the tart shell. This will help to keep the edges upright during the baking process. Fill the foil with 1 lb. of either dry baking beans or rice and bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Then remove the foil and beans/rice and continue baking the dough for 2-3 more minutes. 
The dough should come out golden brown around the edges when it’s done.
Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk until it becomes a homogeneous mixture.
Then put it over medium to medium-high heat and whisk continuously until it thickens, 12-15 minutes.
I know it doesn’t look like much of a difference, but you’ll be able to feel the texture while you’re whisking it. Take the curd off the heat and slowly whisk in the butter one pat at a time until it is all incorporated, then fill the cooled tart shell with the curd.
Bake until the curd is set, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. I served mine chilled, but you could also serve it at room temperature. Enjoy!
St. Patty’s Day Cookies
Sous Chef: My sister, Elly
Since yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to break the normal “just wear green and eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patty’s Day” tradition and make these cute little shortbread shamrocks!
P.S. Yes, we did wear green, and yes we did eat corned beef and cabbage for dinner. I didn’t say we totally ditched those traditions!:)
To make the cookies look like 4-leafed clovers, I used this cloud cookie-cutter and the stem of the Christmas tree. Then, I just pressed the stem cut-out onto the cloud and wah-la…I had a St. Patty’s Day shamrock! You can make these anytime of year, though, with any cookie cutter you’d like.
Shortbread Shamrocks (Ina Garten)
- 3 sticks butter, softened (Yes, I know that’s a lot, but the recipe makes between 36-48 shamrocks, so you get a lot from it!)
- 1 c sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 c flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Start by creaming together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Just mix it until it comes together. Then, add the vanilla.
Sift together the flour and salt, and add to the to butter mixture. Dump it onto a clean, lightly floured work surface, and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
When it’s finished chilling, roll it out to about a 1/2 in thickness.
Stamp out the cookies with your cookie cutter. (You can see where I stamped out the Christmas tree stems around the edges!)
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle with green sprinkles. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-18 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. Cool on a rack, then snack on them as you chase down the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!
Pasta Prima Vera
This is a classic Italian bistro dish that is SO easy to make at home! You basically just take all of your favorite vegetables and combine them with any long-noodle pasta and…wah-la! You’ve got yourself pasta prima vera!
Now, since this dish is basically just noodles and vegetables, I went with a recipe that had more of a sauce consistency. I think you’ll really like how the vegetables give off their own juices and really add to the whole smoothness of this dinner. It is sure to convert anyone with a strict sweet tooth to someone who can’t get enough of their veggies!
I used carrots, red peppers, asparagus, yellow squash, mushrooms, and grape tomatoes. You could use any vegetables you like, though! (Heads up, whenever you see garlic in one of these dishes, just know that I did not use it. My family is not a big garlic fan, but I’m sure everything would be great with it, too!)
Pasta Prima Vera (Ellie Krieger)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 c chicken stock
- 1/2 c milk
- 1 tbsp. flour, dissolved in 3 tbsp. water
- salt and pepper
- linguine pasta (could substitute with fettucine, papardelle, or any other long noodle!)
- 2 tbsp. parsley
- 1/4 c basil
- grated parmesan cheese
- any combination of veggies you’d like!
Heat oil in a large saute pan and cook garlic for about 1 minute. Add peppers (if using) and cook for about 3 minutes. Add any other vegetables you’re using and saute for about 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in flour/water mixture and add chicken stock, milk, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until the liquid has thickened slightly.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 c of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the vegetables and add the pasta water to thin if necessary. Add parsley and basil and serve with parmesan cheese. Bon appetite!
