Here is a lovely summer recipe that will work with any fresh berries from the farmers market. Please remember to only buy organic berries and to wash them well.......berries are number one on the "dirty" list and hold pesticides like no other fruit of vegetable. Or better yet, grow your own!
Anyway, this recipe is adapted from a recipe that first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, which I have adapted to be much more healthy and suitable for my Husband Troy, who is diabetic.
I encourage you to try it. The berries really shine and it can be eaten at any time of day, as it is not too sweet. It would be lovely paired with some fresh vanilla bean ice cream, or even a berry sorbet to bring it to the next level!
Blackberry Crunch Cake
Serves 24
Nut Crunch
• Oil to coat pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for coating pan
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts, preferably pecans or walnuts
Cake
• 2 cups white wheat flour
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups splenda
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups fresh blackberries/raspberries, washed and picked over
Instructions:
Have all ingredients at room temperature unless otherwise stated. Center a rack in the oven, and preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray or butter a 9-inch springform pan and coat inside of pan with flour, tap out excess flour.
For the Nut Crunch:
In a small bowl, stir flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Add butter, and with your fingertips or a pastry blender, mash in butter until well blended. Stir in chopped nuts with a fork. It will be like a nutty soft paste at this point.
For the cake:
Stir flour, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Combine milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, slowly at first until blended. Continue to beat until light in color and fluffy in texture, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce mixer to lowest speed, and alternately add the flour mixture in thirds and milk mixture in two portions until batter is well blended; scraping down the bowl with a spatula when necessary. Spread two-thirds of the batter over the bottom of the prepared pan. With fingertips, crumble 1/3 cup of the nut crunch evenly over the batter and scatter the blackberries evenly over the top. Spread the remaining batter over the berries - it's okay that the batter will just barely cover the berries. Scatter the rest of the crunch evenly over the batter's surface.
Bake for about 60 minutes, until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out free of cake. Place cake on a wire rack, and with hands covered to avoid a burn, remove the pan's ring.
Set aside to let cake cool completely before serving.
Per serving: 328 calories, 5 g protein, 41 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat (8 g saturated), 69 mg cholesterol, 188 mg sodium, 2g fiber.
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