Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake
Published July 20, 2004
Craig Lee for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE STRAWBERRY PURÉE
8 ounces strawberries
3 tablespoons strawberry jam
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
FOR THE CAKE
Vegetable oil, for pan
¾ cup sugar
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING
2 teaspoons Demerara or turbinado sugar
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare strawberry purée: In a blender, combine strawberries and jam. Make a paste of cornstarch and vanilla, and add to blender. Purée until smooth.Set aside.
- Step 2
Prepare cake: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sprinkle in butter cubes and rub them in by hand until mixture resembles large coarse crumbs. Remove ½ cup and set it aside. To large bowl, add sour cream,egg and vanilla. Mix well.
- Step 3
Using a little over half the cake batter, drop dollops of batter into pan. Pat batter across bottom of pan and about 1 inch up sides; mixture will be very sticky and somewhat uneven. Add strawberry purée, making an even layer across bottom of pan and leaving a rim of dough above it. Cover with remaining cake mixture.
- Step 4
Prepare crumble topping: In a medium bowl, combine reserved ½ cup dough and Demerara sugar. Stir with a fork to mix. Sprinkle evenly over cake.
- Step 5
Bake cake until lightly golden, about 45 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
This was delicious but I wasn't sure it would turn out that way. The batter is very thick and sticky, almost like dough, though not hard to pat across the bottom of the pan. However the puree was very liquidy. Thick, sticky batter doesn't spread over a soft liquid surface. The batter and the puree just got mixed together as I tried to distribute the batter on top of the puree. I thought it would be a disaster but in the end it worked out great and everyone loved it.
Made a half recipe of this. It fits well in a 6" dia springform pan. I used canned apricot halves and apricot jam for the puree. Also diced up some dried apricots, then macerated overnight with a little Cointreau, to go on top of the puree. Swapped out 1 tsp vanilla with almond extract and added sliced almonds to the crumble topping. Got raves from the friend I made it for -- she says it needs to be in the permanent rotation.
I used a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients and it worked just fine. Have these tools gone out of fashion?
Recipe wasn’t hard per se but did use several dishes/bowls/utensils. The cake itself, made according to instructions, turned out delicious. I was doubtful about the texture of the batter which was notoriously difficult to press into a neat layer, but ultimately used my spatula and fingers to pat it into place. I still couldn’t form an even layer though. I do agree that the batter needs a pinch of salt. The cake, when sliced turned out exactly like the picture, with a thin line of strawberry running through the center. Was a hit with my in-laws.
I was skeptical when I started blending up the strawberry-jam concoction but this cake was absolutely delicious and a nice change from our usual strawberry-themed desserts. We served it to some friends and children and it got rave reviews, the recipe was requested several times, etc. My kids nearly climbed over the table to get another slice. Definitely a keeper!
So yummy! Made this as outlined but added 1/4 tsp of salt to the dry mixture, as recommended by other, and flour as sub. for cornstarch. I didn't have a 9" pan so I used a 12-cupcake pan instead, worked perfectly and actually kind of easier I'd imagine than having to spread that thick paste over a pan, I just dolloped in each one for all the batter.