I do not like bananas or strawberries, and I absolutely detest bananas. I had a bad experience when my older sister Celina shoved them down my throat when I was little. Thank you, Celina. Everyone always say how much they love strawberries or bananas, but my favorite fruit is blueberries. Blueberries are perfect; they have a nice tartness and a sweetness to balance everything out. In my opinion, blueberries are the best of both worlds.

I found this recipe, which is courtesy of Ina Garten, on her cooking show Barefoot Contessa. I love any recipe that has blueberries in it. This blueberry crumb cake will make you want to eat the batter, which, hey, that is a beautiful thing. Also I always say to taste the batter before cooking it, because if the batter tastes good, then the cake or dessert will always be better.

Ingredients:

For the streusel:

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

¼ lb. (1 stick) butter

1 1/3 cups flour

For the cake:

6 tbsp butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

3/4 cups sour cream

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 45 minutes, until a cake tester (toothpick) comes out clean. Cool completely (it says to cool completely, but I just cannot help myself and I eat it warm, trust me its better this way), and serve sprinkled with confectioners sugar.