Blueberry Crumble Loaf

When my brother came to visit us in May (from England), he brought a load of goodie gifts - chocolate, hard candy, and for me, a cookbook - always the perfect gift. He brought me Cake Days, the house cookbook of The Hummingbird Bakery in London. First of all, that is the most adorable bakery name I've ever heard. Second, the cookbook is gorgeous! Third, like with all new cookbooks I am slowly working my way through and making lists of all the delights I can't wait to try, like Blood Orange Cheesecake, Pistachio Whoopie Pies, and Sticky Toffee Cupcakes. For real.

The first thing I tried was Lemonade Cupcakes. Those will be showing up during Lemonade Week, later this month. Second, for a summery Sunday dessert, we made this Blueberry Crumble Loaf.
Sweet, sturdy vanilla cake with fresh, local berries that cannot be beat. A crumble topping is Hummingbird's favorite, and who can argue this one, with brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Feel free to try it with raspberries or blackberries instead!
*All measurements were given in grams and ounces - I weighed, then measured, and give you the American measurements.

Blueberry Crumble Loaf (print recipe)
Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plus 6 T all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ounce whole milk
3/4 cups fresh or frozen (defrosted) blueberries
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Crumble Topping:
3 T all-purpose flour
1 T unsalted butter
1 T soft light brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

2. First make the crumble topping. In a bowl, rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the remaining ingredients and then set aside.

3. Next make the cake. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Break the eggs in one at a time, mixing well, on medium speed, after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure every bit of the mixture is incorporated.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, then add in three stages to the creamed butter and eggs, pouring in the milk after the second batch has been added. Mix well on medium speed after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl once again to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated.

5. Increase the speed to medium to high and continue mixing until the batter is smooth and even, then add the blueberries and chopped pecans, stirring them into the batter by hand and making sure they are evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top.

6. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the sponge feels firm and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, with no cake batter sticking to it. Allow the loaf to cool a little before turning it out of the pan on a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into slices and serve.

Recipe from Cake Days: Recipes to Make Every Day Special from The Hummingbird Bakery

1 year ago: Foccacia
2 years ago: Blueberry Fool