Today we have a special bake Babcias strawberry crumble cake*.

What an amazing hot summer we are having in the UK right now!! First time in years I am actually able to slow down for a little while and admire the surroundings. I have finally managed to expand my beautiful organic allotment and we have picked our first large crop from the strawberry patch. As soon I have picked the first strawberry I knew what I am going to make. My thoughts took me to my late grandma and her amazing Babcias strawberry crumble cake!

Babcias strawberry crumble cake 

My grandma, in polish babcia* who of course had a massive influence on my food journey was an amazing cook. She was always cooking or baking and was always offering food to anyone who walked through the door. Her and granddad (dziadek*) had a massive fruit and vegetable garden where they were growing many organic fruits. She was the master queen of yeast dough and in the summer her signature bake was this simple berry cake. Preferably topped with strawberries or raspberries and it had to be sprinkled with some delicious crumble.

 

 

This tasty and delicious Babcias strawberry crumble cake is a must in the current weather. You can have it as light breakfast with a glass of milk or a quick bite with afternoon ice tea.  It’s great for a picnic or lunch out as it keeps really well and could be a healthier alternative to a doughnut.

Don’t worry there is no kneading or hard work involved as you normally would expect when working with yeast. The hardest part is watching and waiting for the dough to grow but believe me it’s so worth it!

Babcias strawberry crumble cake can be eaten hot, almost straight from the oven or even cold the next day… but it never lasts that long.

Babcias strawberry crumble cake is flavoursome, light and fluffy almost like the Italian Panettone cake. With fresh, juicy sweet and sour burst of strawberries nicely ‘melting’ in the dough. Coated in sweet, golden, buttery crumble!

 

Method:

The dough part for Babcias strawberry crumble cake.

In a medium bowl prepare the starter.

  • 50g fresh yeast
  • 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Using back of a spoon crush and blend together. Add

  • 1 tsp plain flour
  • 2 tbsp. warm milk

Mix well together and leave it aside in a warm place covered with a cloth until double in size.

In the meantime prepare:

  • 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled but still liquidised (if the butter is too hot it will kill the yeast)
  • 1 tbsp. organic olive oil (I have used avocado oil)
  • 250ml warm milk + 50g glucose
  • 1 whole organic egg + 2 egg yolks beaten with 150g sugar

Add all of the above including the starter into

  • 500g sieved plain flour

You can mix with a large wooden spoon until well combined, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Alternatively  to save time and energy I am using my free standing mixer with beater end. Leave in warm place covered with a cloth till at last double in size. Approximately 45 minutes to an hour. I don’t usually rush this step so sometimes let it stand even slightly longer when I go out or carry with other jobs.

When the Babcias strawberry crumble cake mixture is growing I prepare the strawberries. You will need

  • 800 – 1000 g of strawberries (or if you prefer other red berries)

Wash them, clean and dry thoroughly. If they are a little bit on the sharp side, mix it with a few table spoon of sugar and leave on a sieve to let the juice out.

Crumble part for Babcias strawberry crumble cake.

  • 160g sieved plain flour
  • 110g cold (from the fridge) and chopped unsalted butter
  • 100g sugar

Chop all the ingredients together to crumble like mix and place it in the fridge.

Assembling Babcias strawberry crumble cake.

You will need 10 or 12″ square tin or a equivalent lined with baking paper. After an hour or so of resting the yeast dough mix it briefly again and spread it in a tin. Evenly cover with fruit and levse for another 15 – 30 minutes to rest.

Warm up over to 190C. Sprinkle crumble all over the Babcias strawberry crumble cake and place it in the over for around 45 minutes. Bake to golden on top or check it with a skewer.

Remove from the oven and slice it straight away or leave it to cool.

 

I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do and will bake it over and over again.

 

*Ps. A quick Polish lesson,

Pronunciation: babcia = babcha, dziadek = jadek

 

 

Very berry cookie dough cake

Very berry cookie dough cake

Last summer we spend an amazing few weeks in Poland. The weather was outstanding, almost every day over 30C and the gorgeous weather meant there was plenty of juicy and delicious fruits to be picked.

Originally Very berry cookie dough cake was my mums recipe that she made over and over again for us when we visited. She made it with apples and cherries but we adapted it slightly and came up with this Very berry cookie dough cake version.

Very berry cookie dough cake

The Very berry cookie dough cake is a fresh, quick and easy reminder of those long hot summery days. It taste perfect when eaten warm with ice cream or cold even on its own!

The base.

For the Very berry cookie dough cake base you will need:

  • 400g plain flour
  • 4 organic egg yolks
  • 200g sugar
  • 250g cold, unsalted butter
  • dash of vanilla
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Sieve the flour. Chop the butter in to small cubes and place all the of the ingredients in a food processor. If you haven’t got a food processor you can ‘rub’ it with your fingers. It suppose to make a loose crumble like texture. Put a side.

Meringue.

In the meantime prepare:

  • 4 egg whites
  • pinch of salt
  • 100g brown sugar

Whisk the egg whites with salt until stiff. Slowly add sugar and set aside.

Fruit mix.

Very berry cookie dough cake

You will need :

  • 1200g – 1500g fresh or frozen mix berries*
  • 4-5 tbls of corn flour depending on type of fruit you use
  • couple of spoons of sugar to your taste*

*I have used frozen mix of summer berries (red currants, black currants, strawberries and raspberries) with some extra frozen strawberries which allowed me to skip the sugar. We prefer our fruit to be slightly sour in taste especially when the cake and meringue are quite sweet. I have also added two crunchy apples, chopped to small pieces for the texture but again you can leave it out.

Mix the fruit with corn flour (and sugar) so it is coated evenly.

Very berry cookie dough cake

Warm the oven to 180C or 160C fan.

TOP TIP. First line a 10″ baking tin with tin foil making sure it overhangs the tin (this is to help to remove the cake later). Then using one, large piece of baking paper place it on top and press it into the corners again making sure it overhangs slightly.

Assembling the layers for Very berry cookie dough cake.

Depending if you are using fresh or frozen fruit please follow step 1 or step 2!

  1. Fresh fruit baking.

Sprinkle evenly 3/4 of the crumble mix in the baking tin. Gently cover with the fruit and then spread the meringue. Crumble the remaining mix on the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes till golden brown.

  1. Frozen fruit baking.

Sprinkle evenly 3/4 of the crumble mix in the baking tin. Gently cover with the fruit and place it in the oven. Bake it for 25 minutes. Take it out and quickly top it up with the meringue and crumble the remaining mix on the top.

Bake it for 50-60 minutes till golden brown.

Very berry cookie dough cake

 

You can enjoy a slice or two straight from the oven but cool completely before removing from the tin.

I hope you like it as much as we do!!

Aggy, Andy & Zara

xxx

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