New York-Style Blackberry Crumb Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• CRUMB TOPPING:
• 3 1/2 cups pastry or cake flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• CAKE:
• 2 1/2 cups pastry or cake flour (See Cook’s Tips)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup buttermilk (See Cook’s Tips)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 pints blackberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a rectangular cake pan or line with parchment paper. A 7 x 11-inch cake pan or 8 x 11-inch casserole dish works best. A 9 x 13-inch pan still works, but will not have the same dramatic height. Set pan aside.
2. Make crumb topping: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to break up clumps. Add melted butter and stir until evenly combined. Mixture should be a coarse crumble with pea-sized clumps. Set aside.
3. Make cake: In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Sprinkle in pieces of butter. Mix on low to medium speed until butter has evenly coated flour and mixture resembles cornmeal.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Add liquid ingredients to bowl with dry ingredients. Mix on low to medium speed until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl to incorporate everything.
5. Transfer batter to prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Scatter blackberries over the top and press each one lightly into cake batter.
6. Sprinkle topping evenly and loosely over blackberries, being careful not to pack it in.
7. Bake 70 to 80 minutes or until a toothpick entered into the center of the cake comes out with only moist crumbs attached.
8. Allow cake to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
9. Cook's Tip:
10. Pastry flour and cake flour have less protein than all-purpose flour and will create a lighter, more delicate texture.
11. Use the thickest, richest, most full-fat buttermilk you can find for best results. Thin buttermilk or reconstituted powdered buttermilk will create a more liquid batter and cause the topping to sink.