I’m so excited: Tonight is both the finale of Top Chef Masters and the premier of Top Chef Las Vegas! I’ve got my fantasy Top Chef team picked out and I’m ready to watch some cooking! I only wish that Jay Rayner was coming back to be a judge on Top Chef LV instead of the annoying Toby Young.
As much as I devour each Top Chef season, one of my pet peeves about many of the contestants is how they always say that they “don’t do dessert.” How many times have you seen contestants lose because they had to make a dessert? If I was going on Top Chef, I would memorize a few basic dessert recipes that I could whip out in a challenge without freaking out. In fact, I think any chef who doesn’t do this before becoming a contestant on the show is dumb. Hopefully the chefs this season have done their homework.
Outside of the Top Chef arena, I hear lots of people who say that they can’t bake, or they can only bake things out of a box. I don’t buy that assumption either. I never really used to bake, but now really enjoy baking desserts, even if my thighs don’t. All it takes is a bit of practice and more importantly closely following recipes. You can’t be as casual with baking recipes as you can with other recipes, but it isn’t that hard to follow a recipe. Plus even if your dessert doesn’t come out exactly like it should, it is still dessert and most people will still eat it. Plus anything homemade from scratch tastes way better than stuff from a box any day.
This Blueberry Streusel Cake was pretty easy to make and was a nice way to use up all of those gorgeous blueberries in the store right now. Sure my streusel topping could have been a bit firmer, but that did not stop us and a friend from hoovering down a huge slice each topped with whipped cream and more fresh blueberries. This Blueberry Streusel makes enough for 6 desserts at 61 cents per serving.
Blueberry Streusel Cake
For the Streusel Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
For the Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 pound blueberries (3 1/4 cups)
Preheat the oven to 350¬?F with a rack in the middle. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Butter the bottom and sides of the pan, then dust with flour, knocking out any excess flour. Be sure that the foil is pushed down all the way in the corners.
To make the streusel topping, mix together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Then add the butter and mix with your fingers until the topping forms large clumps.
The cake batter is just as easy as the topping: mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir the sour cream and vanilla together in a separate small bowl.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is pale and fluffy, around 5 minutes. Add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture until everything is really mixed together. Slowly add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the sour cream mixture and whisk until everything is combined. Lastly gently fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula so it is even and flat. Crumble half of the streusel topping evenly over batter.
Bake the cake for 25 minutes, then remove it from the oven and crumble the remaining streusel topping evenly over the cake. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes more. My cake took a bit longer to cook, but I just kept on checking back every 5 minutes until my toothpick came out clean and had no problems.
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Then lift out the cake using the foil and let it cool completely on cake rack.
I served the streusel with whipped fresh cream and a few extra blueberries. It was light and not too sweet, which is my favourite kind of dessert.
You can make the cake a day ahead of when you need it. Tightly wrap the cake in clingfilm once it has cooled and store it at room temperature.
