Blackberry Coffeecake

(Recipe found over at Smitten Kitchen)

Notes:

Not having any rhubarb on hand, nor the faintest idea how to go about finding it, I substituted 6 oz of blackberries, with 2 tablespoons of sugar and the 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, which turned out delicioso. i'd personally use a little bit more flour next time. The cake turned out fantastic, but there was barely enough batter for an 8 x 8, and it was very dense. and (cringe) moist. but following this recipe to a T, it should turn out great great great.

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing pan

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 3/4 cups cake flour (all-purpose is fine)

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (all-purpose is fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. OR, gently crush 6-8 oz blackberries and toss with sugar and cornstarch. (I skipped the ginger throughout, which worked fine for me. i didn't want my coffeecake too spicy.) Set aside.

For the crumbs: in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted butter until smooth. Then, add flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and set aside.

For the cake: in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb (blackberry filling) over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter, about 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

pretend this photo shows the cake with powdered sugar. much better.