The wonders that a little lemon zest can do to a cake. This blueberry lemon streusel cake follows an old recipe but Alex did some tweaking with the ingredients and came up with a more richly-flavored and more aromatic product. That whiff of bright citrusy smell and that subtle tang that makes the sweet-tart blueberry flavor even more pronounced…
This blueberry lemon streusel cake finally ended the battle on who was going to use the blueberries that had been sitting in the freezer for at least a week. Alex said she was going to use them; I said I needed a portion. Well, she used less than half of the blueberries so there’s more than enough for another dessert that I’m planning to make.
Just how different is this from the old streusel cake recipe? Well, aside from the addition of lemon zest, Alex used regular full cream milk and the juice of half a lemon. Two little things. But, trust me, this is ten time better than the original.
Alex's Blueberry Lemon Streusel Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/6 cup full cream milk
- juice of one lemon
- zest of one lemon
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
For the streusel topping:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350F.
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Grease and flour the bottom and sides of an 8-1/2"x4-1/4" loaf pan (skip the greasing and flouring if using a silicone pan.
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Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
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In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I used a hand mixer but a wire whisk will do. DO NOT overmix: you will know you have overmixed if the butter solids separate from the fat.
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Add the egg and yolk and mix until fully incorporated.
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Add the flour and milk in batches. Add a third of the flour first, mix; add half of the milk, mix; add the next third of the flour, mix; then the remaining milk and, finally, the rest of the flour. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
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Make the streusel mixture. Using your fingertips, rub together all the streusel ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
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Scatter the frozen blueberries on top of the cake batter. Fill the gaps with the streusel mixture.
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Bake at 350F (remember to lower the heat if using a dark colored pan) for one hour to one hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
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Cool the cake in the pan for about half an hour. You may have to use a knife or spatula to loosen the cake from the pan in case pieces of strawberries and blueberries touch the side of the pan. The caramelization would make them stick to the pan. So, loosen the cake gently in places where it sticks to the pan before releasing the cake.
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This blueberry lemon streusel cake is best served warm.
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To store, place in a tightly-covered container and keep in the fridge.
