Peach-Berry Crumble Cake

Peach-Berry Crumble Cake is for those occasions when you’re in the mood for a crumble but you don’t have enough fruit. Or when half the family wants crumble, and the other half wants cake.

People always ask me for this recipe, so that’s a good sign you’ll like it, too. And it’s so easy. No need to bust out the big stand mixer, just use a hand mixer or even a spoon.

The most important part of any recipe that includes peaches is, of course, the peaches. A friend told me yesterday that she doesn’t buy peaches anymore because she never gets good ones.

If you have that problem, just do what I do: go by color and smell. Look for yellow peaches with good color and no green shoulders (area around the stem). Then give each peach the sniff test. If it doesn’t smell peachy, it won’t have much flavor.

Are you a peach fan? What is your favorite summer fruit?

Peach-Berry Crumble Cake

(Makes one 8-inch/20-cm square cake, 8 or 9 servings) 

The Crumble

3/4 cup (3 ounces/85 grams) rolled oats
1/2 cup (2.5 ounces/71 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 packed cup (1.75 ounces/50 grams) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (1 ounce/28 grams) finely chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3 ounces/85 grams) unsalted butter, cold, coarsely shredded

The Fruit

1 to 1 1/4 cups (about 6 ounces/170 grams) fresh blueberries
1 cup chopped yellow peaches

The Cake

2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Enough milk to make 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces/177 ml)
1 1/2 dip-and-sweep cups (7.5 ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (5.25 ounces/149 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. Butter (or spray with cooking spray) an 8-inch square baking dish. In small 1.5-quart mixing bowl, whisk together oats, flour, sugar, pecans, salt and cinnamon. With your fingers, rub the butter into the dry mixture, leaving some larger chunks of butter. Remove 1 cup of crumble from the bowl.

2 Prepare fruit. I rarely peel peaches for anything, just scrub them well. Measure vinegar into 1-cup glass measure; add enough milk to make 3/4 cup. Stir and let stand about 5 minutes to thicken a bit while you proceed.

3 In medium 2.5-quart mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the softened butter; with electric hand mixer, mix on low speed until cut in. Add soured milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then on medium speed for 1 minute.

4 Pour into prepared pan. Scatter 1 cup of the crumble over the batter, add a layer of fruit, and top with remaining crumble. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5 Cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes to serve warm, or let cool completely and serve at room temperature.

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Jean