Ricotta Blueberry Crumb Cake

This delicious coffee cake comes from Dorie Greenspan and is delicious for breakfast, tea or dessert. The cornmeal in the crumbs give them extra crunch.

Crumbs

3⁄4 c all-purpose flour
1⁄2 c sugar
1⁄2 c brown sugar
1⁄3 c cornmeal
1⁄4 t salt
7 T unsalted butter, cool, cut into small pieces
1⁄2 t vanilla

Cake

1 1⁄2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1⁄4 t baking soda
3⁄4 c sugar
1⁄4 t salt
3⁄4 c whole-milk ricotta
8 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs, at room temperature

Fruit

1 1⁄2 to 2 c fresh or frozen blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries

Crumbs: Combine all the ingredients except the butter and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low just to combine. Add in the butter chunks and beat on medium-low until they form moist clumps. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Use your fingers to squeeze clumps together, creating big crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until needed (two to three hours is ideal to allow the gluten to relax while you make the cake. Can be made 3 days ahead and kept tightly covered and refrigerated.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9” square baking pan.

Cake: In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk, together the sugar and salt. Add the ricotta and blend well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk in the melted butter. Use a spatula to fold in the dry ingredients until the batter is thick and smooth. Spread the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place the fruit over batter, Remove the crumbs from the refrigerator and use your hands to break the crumbs into pieces the size of large pebbles or small stones. Spread crumbs around the outer edge of the pan first, then evenly fill in the center.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out mostly clean. Cool cake 15 minutes on a wire rack then remove cake from the pan. Cut into 12 or 16 squares. Keeps for 4 days wrapped at room temperature. This cake freezes well and can be kept 2 months frozen.