ABC - July 2019: Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake

This month's recipe for the ABC bakers is the Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake from The Brown Eyed Baker's blog. I almost didn't bake this because it was like a million degrees in my kitchen (aka 90s F). Then I came up with the following plan:

• Be done as quickly as possible, so I
• Skipped the fruit marinade which didn't make sense to me anyway.
• Skipped the crumb topping because in my experience, the crumb topping is only crunchy and delicious on the day you bake it, and I was going to take it to work the next day.
• Substitute coarse cornmeal with almond flour because I only had fine cornmeal.
• Use a different fruit combo so I can save myself a trip to the grocery store.
• Substitute a mixture of sour cream and plain yogurt for the milk, and adjust the leavening accordingly.
• Ground ginger and candied ginger are yummy, but I wanted to give it more so I added some ground cardamom to the cake as well.
• Finally, bake the cake in the toaster oven, which is big enough to hold a 9" x 9" cake pan.

The cake was fragrant, tender and very flavorful. Bon Appetit! :)

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog or visit us on Facebook for more information.

This recipe uses the reversed creaming method which means you mix your flour, sugar, and leavening, and then add room temperature butter. This coats the flour with fat, and reduces the gluten formation in your batter, which is a good thing because nobody likes a cake that's tough.

I loved this simple and yet flavorful cake, and will definitely be making it again!

Bon Appetit!

Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake (sans crumb topping)

(adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker blog)

Yields: one 9" x 9" pan

Dry ingredients (sift together):

• 200 g bleached AP flour
• 48 g (blanched) almond flour
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• Ground up seeds from about 6-8 green cardamom pods (in spice grinder with a little sugar)
• 1 packet of European vanilla sugar (8 g)
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 15 g candied ginger, finely chopped (don't add this right away)

Wet ingredients:

• 85 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 125 g sour cream
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 28 g plain yogurt (or sour cream)

Topping:

• 15 g candied ginger, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of dried cranberries, covered in hot water for 10 min, drained and slightly squeezed
• 1-2 handfuls of frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 375 F and butter/flour your 9" x 9" pan.
• Put all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Add the butter and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds.
• Add the sour cream (125 g) and mixed for about 15 seconds.
• Mixed the eggs and 28 g yogurt (or sour cream) really well. With the mixer, add the egg mixture in three steps on low speed.
• Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 30 seconds.
• Mix the candied ginger into the batter by hand using a rubber spatula.
• Scrape the batter into your prepared cake pan.
• Sprinkle the toppings on it.
• Bake for 25-30 min, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.