Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Strawberry Cheese Crumb Cake

Strawberry Cheese Crumb Cake

Despite my deep love of chocolate, somehow warm weather brings out my desire for fruit based desserts. Oh, I'm not quite ready to give up the flour, butter and sugar. It's just that I'd rather see lemons and blueberries in the batter than cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

Strawberry Cheese Crumb Cake
Flipping through my treasure trove of pinned recipes, I found lots for coffee cake/crumb cake creations with berries and I've been trying a few. None were really bad but none were stellar, either. That is until I tried The Barefoot Contessa's blueberry crumb cake. The cake itself is moist which not all of them are. The crumb topping is generous, which is so very important in a crumb topping and the lemon zest adds a certain something.

Strawberry Cheese Crumb Cake
So we have a clear cut winner in the lemony, fruity, coffee/crumb cake department. Except that this weekend I sort of felt like having a little cheesecake layer in there. Sort of like my brownie cheesecake (link) but with blueberry crumb cake instead.  Hmm. I looked through recipes for a while and then realized I was being silly. Why not just adapt a recipe I already loved? And so, with all due respect to the Contessa, here is my modified version of her amazing recipe. It uses strawberry preserves instead of fresh fruit and includes a cheesecake layer under the crumb topping.

Ingredients

Crumb Topping Layer:
1/2 Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Stick unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

Cake Layer:
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 Cup sour cream
1 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup strawberry preserves combined with 1/2 cup of water
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Cheesecake Layer:
16 oz. Cream cheese
1 Egg
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Teaspoons vanilla
1 Teaspoon lemon juice
To make the crumb topping, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir in the melted butter and then the flour.  Mix well and set aside.

Strawberry Cheese Crumb Cake
To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar together using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Add the eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and sour cream and continue mixing until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix into to the batter just until combined.

To make the cheesecake layer, blend the ingredients with a hand mixer, stand mixer or food processor until thoroughly combined and free of lumps.

To assemble the cake, pour the cake layer batter into a greased 9" round spring-form pan (you can also bake this in a 9" square baking dish). Spread the strawberry preserves over the top of the batter. Pour the cheesecake batter over the preserves and, using a butter knife, lightly swirl together. Crumble the crumb topping evenly over the batter and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from the spring-form pan. Dust the top with confectioner's sugar before serving. Makes approximately 8-10 servings.

To see the original Barefoot Contessa recipe for blueberry crumb cake, click here.

32 comments:

  1. Yum. . .the addition of the cheesecake layer to a crumb cake, delicious!

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  2. You made this with me in mind. I can tell!

    Seriously, seriously divine, Anita!

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  3. I love crumb cake!!! This looks aaahhhhmazing! I love to eat all the crumbs off the top before I actually start in on the cake!

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  4. This looks so good. I love crumb cake, especially with fruit. Now you got me wanting to wander into the kitchen to bake at midnight.

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  5. Like you, I do seem to go for the fruit stuff more so than the chocolate when the weather turns hot. I guess I think of chocolate as being heavy.
    I love crumb cakes and the addition of the sweet layer of cream cheese and strawberries does sound like a great addition. Delicious post!

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  6. Marvelous cake! Crumb cakes seem to be harder to find on Foodbuzz than most other cake recipes - thanks for adding!

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  7. This is absolutely gorgeous and looks like it tastes heavenly. Wonderful photography too. With strawberry season here, this is the perfect way to use up berries. Great recipe!

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  8. Oh my! That looks so yummy! I love the center, so pretty!

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  9. You make me forget about chocolate with this cake - it looks fantastic and your photography is superb :D

    Cheers
    CCU

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  10. *Drools* this is definitely getting made in the next few days. It looks wonderful, Anita!

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  11. Anything with a "cheesecake layer" is a winner to me! Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe. It's only 7:30 AM, and I'm already wishing I could forgo work and spend the day in the kitchen. I hope you have a wonderful end to your week!

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  12. wow, gorgeous cake! sounds absolutely delicious!

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  13. As full as I am right now this would have to be added to my dessert tonight! Love it! looks absolutely amazing!

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  14. Oh MY!!! I'm thinking you found a winner!! I'm with you on the chocolate, but I go a bit weak at the knees for a good strawberry cake. Irresistible!!

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  15. This cake does sound really delicious!

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  16. Wow! That Strawberry Cheese Crumb Cake look so delicious! Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog! ^_^

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  17. Oh wow! This looks gorgeous, Anita! :)

    I love the rich and tender this cake is! Love the addition of fresh strawberries in the filling. I made a very similar cake last year and used blueberries.

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  18. My boyfriend wants you to come bring us some of this please lol.

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  19. This looks fantastic! Great find

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  20. Love berries for summer too. Strawberries are on top of the list, I love the look of this crumb cake.I am sure this tastes awesome! Thanks for sharing. Happy Summer =)

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  21. Hey, that's not fair. You can't be making this and NOT beam me some over. I wants it, and I wants it NOW. :)

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  22. I think all desserts should have a cheesecake layer ;) This sounds fantastic!

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  23. Cheesecake in coffee cake? With fruit? I think I've died and gone to dessert heaven. I love Barefoot Contessa's recipes, and I LOVE how you reinvented it to suit your own cravings. Bravo!

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  24. HI Anita, you've got it all going on with this cake. Crumb topping, cheese cake and a strawberry layer. Sounds wonderful. I am looking for your subscribe button via e-mail but I don't see it. Can you e-mail me and let me know how to subscribe. Thanks! Have a great evening.

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  25. I love crumb cakes and that strawberry addition makes it just too tempting.

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  26. oh my gosh. That looks so good. Its like my 4 most coveted things....strawberries, cheesecake, and crumble topping....how could it be wrong?

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  27. This would be perfect for a brunch party. I can't wait to give it a try... three of my favorite things - strawberries, cheesecake and crumb topping! yummmm.

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  28. That looks amazing! Seriously that would be a crumb cake worth skipping chocolate for. YUM!

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  29. Anita, this looks fabulous--so many different types of treats in one cake!

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  30. How genius to incorporate a cheesecake layer in a coffee cake!

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  31. It looks amazing! I have to try it asap! Thanks for sharing a recipe! yummy

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