Mixed berry Crumb Coffee Cake

When I crave food it's never something salty... well hardly every. Ok, cheese... cheese is probably the one savory thing I crave. But sweet is my kryptonite. Cake, pie, cookies... I save room for it all! God, cheese and sweets... This is why that "baby weight" won't come off. I say baby weight, by my daughter turns 3 next week, so is it toddler weight now? The weight you gain when dealing with a toddler drives you to the point of insanity and the only thing that'll calm your nerves is cake and a glass of wine? Ohhh.. that gives me a good idea for a cake recipe... haha. But back to my first thought...Coffee cake cravings.... Soft sweet cake topped with a TON of cinnamon ladened buttery crumbs. And just to make myself feel better about eating cake, I'm adding berries to this...because fruit makes it healthy right? Yup, I'm going to stick with that answer...So I'm making this "Healthy" Mixed Berry Crumb Coffee cake!

This is cake is super soft and moist, the crumb is nutty with a great crunch and the berries give it a sweet tartness that goes so well with the sweet cake and sweet cinnamon crumbs. Berries and cinnamon are a match made in heaven. Also the best part is that this cake comes together pretty quickly. I was able to bake it and allow it cool all before nap time was over! And that in my book is a keeper!

This starts with the crumb. A mixture of sugar, butter, cinnamon and flour go in a bowl. The original recipe called for cake flour but I decided to use whole wheat white flour for an extra bit of nuttiness and also to make myself feel better for eating half the cake myself.....

Moving on, the berry filling is just fruit and water. I didn't want to add sugar to this since the topping on the cake is basically just sugar and butter. I simmered the berries and water in a small sauce pan till it thickened a bit and allowed it to cool.

And now the cake. I thought this recipe was interesting since it called for mixing the butter into the dry ingredients instead of creaming the butter first. I thought it was going to be a mess, but it turned out beautifully. Like seriously beautiful. The cake was tender and moist. I couldn't have asked it to come out better. I then gently layered the batter, berries and crumb topping and baked till it was golden brown. 

There's just something about cinnamon sugar that make your house feel warm and homey. This cake is good and serious comfort food for when those cravings hit!

Mixed Berry Crumb Coffee Cake

*Adapted from Smells Like Home's New York Style Crumb cake

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar 
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat white flour

For the Berry Filing:

• 16oz frozen mixed berries
• 1/4 cup water

For the cake:

• 1 ¼ cups cake flour 
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into slices, softened but still cool
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup buttermilk

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Method

Make the topping: 

Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture comes together; set aside to cool.

Make the Mixed berry filling:

In a small sauce pan combine the frozen mixed berries and water. Heat till it boils then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. Take it off the heat and allow to cool.

Make the Cake:

1. re Heat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9 inch square pan with a piece of parchment that hangs over the sides of the pan to make lifting the cake out easier.
2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine.
3. Add butter one piece at a time and mix on a low speed until it resembles moist crumbs and butter is mixed in.
4. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute., scraping once if necessary.
5. Spread the batter into even layer. 
6. Gently spread on the cooled berry filling into an even layer over the cake batter. Be gentle here, you don't want the berries to drop into the cake batter.
7. Break apart crumb topping and spread an even layer over the berry filling. The original recipe says to spread the crumbs starting from the sides of the pan and go into the center to avoid adding too much weight in the middle of the cake causing it to sink!
8. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleab.
9. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.