I have made this delightful and delicious cake a few times in the past. The last time I made one, I slipped half of it into a dish I was returning to a friend who had fixed a meal for me while I was recovering from an illness. When I made the last one I sprinkled miniature chocolate chips on top and turned this already delicious cake into a decadent delight!

I do not have a kitchen mixer, so I just did it all the old fashioned way. I cut the butter in with a hand held pastry mixer.

Whether or not you make it exactly as it’s printed (which is what I highly recommend!) or embellish it a little with your own little touch, this cake recipe is a keeper. I plan on making this again this weekend, so I will add a picture as soon as I can.

As always I recommend not substituting any ingredients. Use real butter and cake flour. Substitutes always compromise the quality of your final product.

Enjoy!

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New York-Style Crumb Cake

Crumb Topping
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and slightly cooled
1 3/4 cups cake flour

Cake
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ sticks), at room temperature
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

For the crumb topping, mix together sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

For the cake, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a 8-inch square pan with a parchment paper sling (spray the pan with cooking spray, lay in a sheet of parchment, pushing it into corners and up sides, allowing excess to overhang edges of dish.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Form crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with outer edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

Farm Bureau on line

Picture by Claire
Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons gelatin
½ cup milk
2½ cups heavy cream
6 Tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla
Sliced mixed berries

Procedure:

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a saucepan over medium heat

, combine the cream and sugar. Cook, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until small bubbles appear around the outside of the pan. Slowly add the cream mixture to the gelatin mixture. Stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla.

Spray 8 ramekins with cooking spray. Divide the mixture evenly among ramekins. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Fill a small bowl with very warm water. Dip the bottom of the ramekins in the water for about 10 seconds. Run a knife around edges of custard to loosen. Invert onto dessert plates. Spoon berries around the panna cotta and serve immediately.

This is a very fun recipe to make. Most people will give you a strange look when you tell them you are making chocolate hazelnut ravioli. Just tell them to trust you — I promise it will impress your family and your guests. By the way, I must warn you (if you do not already know) Nutella is a highly addictive substance. Once you open that little jar it is hard to stay away from it.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Ravioli
From Foodnetwork.com
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

16 wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten to blend
1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
Vegetable oil, for frying
16 fresh mint leaves
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Granulated sugar, for dredging
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Place 1 wonton wrapper on the work surface. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with egg. Spoon 1 tablespoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread into the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half over the filling and press the edges of the wrapper to seal. Place the ravioli on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, egg, and chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat to 350 degrees F.

Working in batches, carefully add the ravioli to the hot oil and cook until they are golden brown, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Then, transfer the cooked ravioli to another baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while frying the remaining ravioli. (The fried ravioli can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool them completely, then cover and refrigerate. Before serving, place them on a baking sheet and rewarm in a preheated 375 degrees F oven just until they are heated through, about 7 minutes.)

Spray the top side of the mint leaves very lightly with nonstick spray. Working with 1 leaf at a time, dredge the coated side of the leaves in sugar to coat lightly.

Arrange 2 fried ravioli on each plate. Dust the ravioli with powdered sugar. Garnish with the sugared mint leaves and serve.

This is a very wonderful summertime dessert, but I can’t think of a bad time to have Bailey’s in anything! When I made this I used the strawberry puree and cream alternately with baked puff pastry (so it was more of an interesting pastry thing versus individual parfaits). Do not substitute the whipped cream with cool whip. You will be disappointed if you do! One thing I have found very helpful when whipping my own cream is to use a metal bowl. About 15 minutes before I am going to whip the cream, I put the metal bowl and the beaters in the freezer. Keep the cream very cold too. Keeping it all very cold reduces the time spent actually whipping the cream.

Strawberry and Bailey’s Fool
Found originally on Recipezaar.
The recipe is from The Irish Heritage Cookbook written by Margaret M. Johnson. It is a David Foley recipe from the Hibernian Hotel in Dublin.

2 cups strawberries, hulled
2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (for dusting)

6 servings

1. Place 6 stem glasses in the refrigerator to chill. Reserve 6 strawberries for garnishing.

2. In a blender or food processor, puree the remaining strawberries until smooth.

3. Beat the cream in a deep bowl until stiff peaks form (just before the butter stage). Add half of the strawberry puree and the Bailey’s Irish Cream to the whipped cream, and gently fold with a rubber spatula until blended.

4. Divide 1/4 of the strawberry cream mixture among the glasses, then top with a layer of the fruit puree and continue to alternate layers of cream and fruit. Top each with a strawberry and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Chocolate Mousse

This recipe goes with Double Chocolate Bombe
Ingredients

1 cup whipping cream, divided
1 (8-ounce) package semisweet chocolate squares
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Cook 1/4 cup cream, chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until chocolate melts. Cool.

Beat remaining 3/4 cup whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; fold into chocolate mixture. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.

Yield 2 1/2 cups

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White Chocolate Mousse

This recipe goes with the Double Chocolate Bombe
Ingredients

1/2 cup whipping cream, divided
3 (1-ounce) white chocolate baking squares
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Cook 2 tablespoons cream, white chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool.

Beat remaining whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; fold into white chocolate mixture.

Yield 1 1/4 cups

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This recipe goes with the Double Chocolate Bombe

Ganache
Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package semisweet chocolate squares
1/4 cup whipping cream
Preparation
Cook chocolate and cream in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted.

Yield 3/4 cup

Southern Living, DECEMBER 1997