Strawberry Crumble Cake...
...mother's day brunch or afternoon snack? Yes to both.
It’s strawberry season, baby!
We had our first Farmers’ Market of the season last Saturday. It was a beautiful day, and the people were out in droves. The booths packed the square - butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. Yes, really - I actually saw all of those categories.
Not to be outdone, our local farms showed out with all the early season produce - radishes and beets, piles of leafy greens, broccoli and cauliflower, and baskets piled high with strawberries.
Oh, the strawberries! I think every booth had baskets lining their tables. The weather this year must have been just right for their growing season.
There’s just something about those perfect berries that requires us to grab the biggest basket and carry them home like treasure. And of course, I am not immune to the excitement - as evidenced by the strawberry recipes that appear here every year, right around this time. The Strawberries and Cornmeal Shortcakes and the Strawberries and Cream Cake are both winners.
As is today’s new recipe for a Strawberry Crumble Cake!
Not too long ago, I made Deb Perelman’s Perfect Blueberry Muffins and was struck with the idea to somehow turn our favorite muffin into a cake of the strawberry variety. I wanted it to taste full-on of strawberry, and I wanted it to have a crumbly streusel-like layer on the top. After some tinkering, both goals were achieved!
Strawberries come at you in three ways - strawberry yogurt in the batter along with diced fresh berries and a drizzle of strawberry jam just under the crumble. And that crumble layer is substantial enough to not feel like just a sprinkling of something crunchy; there’s enough there that you get a little in every forkful. (Full recipe below.)
So far the best review has been my son’s first bite and exclamation - “whoa, this really tastes like strawberry.” (And in case you don’t know, for a fifteen year old boy, that’s a lot of excitement.)
This cake would be a lovely addition to your Mother’s Day brunch menu, but I think it squarely falls into my favorite category of anytime-cake. Breakfast, snack, or evening treat - it all works for me! In fact, I highly suggest just leaving a knife in the cake stand so you can slice off a little wedge any time you walk by…
MONDAY - Baked Chicken Breast, Mac ‘n Cheese, Green Beans
Seasoned chicken breasts can bake in the oven while I make a quick stove top mac ‘n cheese. I’ve been keeping a Costco sized bag of frozen green beans for when we need a veg, and I didn’t get anything at the store.
TUESDAY - Enchiladas and Rice
Cinco de Mayo falls on Taco Tuesday! Ground Beef Enchiladas and a cilantro lime rice with chips and salsa will fit the bill!
WEDNESDAY - Melted Leeks with Sausage, Olives, and Oregano
Cookbook Recipe - This week’s recipe is from Six Seasons of Pasta (page 177), by Joshua McFadden. A curly pasta that holds onto a chunky tomato sauce with softened leeks, sausage, and pops of briny olives.
THURSDAY - Pork BBQ Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Pork butt was on sale at the store, so I’ll pop it in the slow cooker early in the day. I’ll turn some into bbq for stuffing into big baked potatoes with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, and chives. The rest will go into the freezer.
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick-Up!
SATURDAY - Dinner at Yaya’s (the in-laws)!
She found a yummy looking recipe for these shrimp and chicken kabobs with a honey-sesame marinade that doubles as a dipping sauce. Excited to try something new!
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s!
Smash burgers and corn on the cob! (He’s been teaching The Kiddo to man the grill the past couple of weeks, and it’s fun to watch!)
LUNCHES for this week -
A “throw-it-together” pasta of sautéed onions and swiss chard tossed with sliced chicken sausages and chickpea pasta and topped with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a drizzle of pesto oil. I’ve already had it a couple of days, and I’m really digging it. Not too heavy, but enough protein and fiber to keep me going until dinner!
EXTRAS for this week
Testing a new sheet pan chicken idea sometime this week and then spending a couple of days trying to revive my sourdough starter which I have neglected. (She doesn’t look so good…)
WEEK 17 - Chicken Katsu - Joshua Weissman, An Unapologetic Cookbook (page 151)
(I didn’t find the exact recipe from the cookbook, but this one on his website is really close.)
Chicken katsu is something we order fairly often when eating out - for us it’s like the Japanese version of our favorite schnitzel! The boys picked it out for our cookbook recipe of the week, and I was happy to make it for them.
The breading and frying of the chicken cutlets is pretty straight forward in this recipe - flour, eggs, panko - similar to other recipes. The recipe did call for more oil to fry them in than what I usually do (I usually do a shallow pan-fry), but it worked well, and I think they came out crispier than mine usually do.
I’m not sure I’m sold on the katsu sauce that you make to go with it; it tasted mostly like ketchup to me. The boys liked it with the chicken, but I think I’d go without it next time.
However, the cabbage slaw on the side was a surprising win! The recipe didn’t really come with a lot of specifics, you mix sliced cabbage with salt, chili oil, and lemon juice “to taste”. I felt like I was flying blind, but I mixed and tasted and mixed and tasted again, and somehow this came out as a wonderful accompaniment to the crispy cutlet.
My recipe alterations - I used three chicken breasts instead of four because they were pretty big, and I cut them in half to make thinner breasts before I pounded them. I also did the flouring step in a ziploc bag because I just didn’t want to wash one more bowl.
We served it as written with the katsu sauce and cabbage slaw, but I also added jasmine rice and honey carrots. Great dinner!
Next time I want crispy cutlets for something, I’ll pull this recipe out.
Strawberry Crumble Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake. 8-10 servings.
· 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
· 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
· ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
· ¼ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 6 tablespoons Butter, melted and cooled slightly
· ½ cup White Sugar
· 1 large Egg, room temperature
· Lemon Zest from half of one Lemon
· One small container, 5.3 ounces, blended Strawberry Greek Yogurt
· 1 ½ cups small-diced Strawberries (thoroughly wash and dry strawberries before cutting)
· ¼ cup Strawberry Jam
Crumble Topping
· ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
· ¼ cup White Sugar
· ¼ cup Brown Sugar
· 1/8 teaspoon kosher Salt
· ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) Butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 with a rack in the middle position. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray, line the bottom with a parchment circle, and lightly spray again. Set the springform pan on a large baking sheet.
Make the crumble topping first – In a medium bowl, combine the flour, both sugars, and salt. Drizzle in the melted butter and mix with a fork until moistened and crumbly with some pea-sized pieces. Set aside.
Make the cake – In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar whisking vigorously for a few minutes until thick and smooth. Whisk in the egg until completely combined and smooth. Add in the lemon zest and yogurt, stirring until well combined. With a spatula, fold in the flour mixture. When it is mostly combined, with just a little dry flour remaining, add the diced strawberries and continue folding until they are evenly distributed.
Spread the cake batter into the prepared springform pan. Heat the strawberry jam until just pourable (15-20 seconds in the microwave) and drizzle over the cake batter. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top and a cake tester comes out with just a few crumbs. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then run a thin spatula around the edges, loosen springform collar, and remove.
Serve now or cool to room temperature. Serve plain or with a dollop of whipped cream. While best the day it is baked, you can store leftover cake, covered, on the counter for up to 3 days
.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
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