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Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

February 20, 2014 by TheWhiteRamekins

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

Coming from north of India and that too being a Punjabi, cornmeal has been a quintessential flour of our diet. Especially during the chilly winter days, we start eating flat breads made of yellow cornmeal slathered with homemade butter and gently cooked mustard greens, more famously known as Makki ki roti and Sarso ka saag, which I think is synonymous to every Punjabi.

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

And my mother, she’s really sentimental about this one dish. But you must be thinking of why am I going so much gung ho about the cornmeal flat breads and the cultural values it has in a north Indian meal, while the title of the post says something else. Actually, when I saw this recipe in Smitten Kitchen’s cookbook for the very first time, I was taken aback, thinking how could one make a dessert out of something which I have been thinking all these years could only be used in savories.

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

This made me thinking on other notes too, of surprising my mother. That yes, you could bake a cake out of the cornmeal as well. Though I had presumptions too, thinking of the “Oh God! What has happened to my boy” look she would be giving out to me.

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

But I still wanted to surprise her by baking this cake. I am already a great fan of Smitten Kitchen’s. Her recipes haven’t failed me ever, so I was confident. Only thing I was doing different was using strawberries as opposed to blueberries in the original recipe.

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

Knowing that strawberries have more water content and through the learning of previous failures with these juicy red berries, I cooked them with cornflour before adding them to the cake. And that did work.

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

The cake came out to be bright yellow colored with a red contrasting berries in the middle. Texture wise, it’s a hearty yet flavorful cake, which we all enjoyed to the fullest!

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumb Cake

Ingredients

Cake

100 gm butter, at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup sour cream

Filling

1 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped
3 tbsp cornflour

Streusel

1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornmeal
2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

  1. For the filling, in a non-reactive saucepan, add the strawberries and corn flour and simmer for 10 minutes, until berries are thick and cooked. Set aside to let cool completely.
  2. Preheat the oven at 180 degree C and butter and flour an 8 inch springform pan and keep aside.
  3. For the cake, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
  4. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a bowl, until pale and fluffy, around 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl, after each addition. Add the vanilla and zest.
  5. Fold in half of the flour mixture, followed by half of the sour cream, followed by another half of flour mixture and sour cream.
  6. Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Spread the strawberry filling on the cake batter in pan.
  7. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for streusel with a fork, until it resembles a coarse sand like mixture. Scatter the topping over the strawberry filling.
  8. Bake the cake for about 50-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and the tester into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  9. Cool the cake in pan for 5 minutes and then loosen the sides of the pan and let cake cool on a wire rack completely.

Filed Under: cake Tagged With: baking, baking with fruits, coffee cake, cornmeal cake, food, strawberries, streusel cake, winters

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake. Happy Thanksgiving!

November 28, 2013 by TheWhiteRamekins

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

Happy Thanksgiving to all you lovely readers! Thanks for admiring and to keep coming back here. Your love has been a true inspiration for me and keeps this place buzzing with lot many new recipes every month. And what else could be a better day to express this gratitude.

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

Two years ago, when I started blogging, I didn’t know that I would’ve come this far. I tried, I failed, I learnt and I finally sailed through and since then I’ve never looked back. My passion for baking at home, and trying new interesting recipes every week has kept growing each passing day. I have lot to learn. And every new like and every humble comment has kept me going with a new energy and excitement every time.

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

I learnt to celebrate each and every season. Summers marked with stone fruit, Spring with strawberries  and Autumn with apples and pears. With holiday season upon us, which started here in India with Diwali, more and more heartwarming, comforting and celebratory recipes keep popping up in every nook and corner of internet. Pinterest is full of inspiration! Wherever you go, whatever you see.

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

I had a big frozen batch of roasted pumpkin left from the pumpkin maple mascarpone roll, which made few days back. Didn’t want to bake the classic pumpkin pie, because of less time being a weekday{no holiday for us here!}.

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

So I picked to bake my second most favorite thing after chocolate chip cookie, a struesel coffee cake. I have baked peach coffee cake and sour cream coffee cake before. But this one is exclusive.

`Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

With high tones of pumpkin pie spices, hearty wholewheat flour, humble roasted pumpkin puree and warmth of walnut topping, this coffee cake came out to be perfect winner for holiday season. Even good for breakfast too!

Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake Wholewheat Pumpkin Walnut Struesel Cake

Recipe adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients

For the streusel:
1/3 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
50 gm cold butter, cut into small chunks
1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

For the batter:
1 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
100 gm butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup yogurt

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
  2. To make the streusel, in a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Toss in the butter and, using 2 table knives or a pastry cutter, cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Alternatively, whir the ingredients in a food processor. Stir in the chopped walnuts. Set aside.

  3. To make the batter, in a bowl, sift together both the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream and mix with the spatula. Stir in the flour mixture. The batter will be quite thick.
  4. Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter. Dollop the remaining batter over the streusel and spread the thick batter as best you can. Top with the remaining streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the sides from the pan and slide the cake onto the rack.
  5. To make the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Cut into thick wedges and serve.

Filed Under: cake Tagged With: autumn, baking, coffee cake, fall, food, hanukkah, healthy, pumpkin, struesel, thanksgiving, whole grain, wholewheat

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake…To my mother

May 23, 2013 by TheWhiteRamekins

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake

I know, it’s a little too late for this, and I have lost the opportunity to wish you all happy mother’s day. I wanted to bake something special for my mother, on this Mother’s day. But because of work and all, I couldn’t visit her. And following next week, when I visited her, I took home this egg-free peach coffee cake, especially baked for her. An egg-free recipe to make her feel special, because she doesn’t eat eggs.

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake 3

Mother’s have unconditional love for their children. They have that warmth in their love and affection, which can heal all your sorrows and pains. It’s been almost 8 years, I have stayed away from home and her tender love, because of work. And all these years, when she rings me up, her goodbyes after the calls have always been the same words…”Take Care“.

“Who’s a boy gonna talk to, if not his mother?”
Donald E. Westlake

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake 1

These two words have always had some magical power attached to them, to make me feel stronger and believe that she’s always by my side.

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake 5

“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.”
Barbara Kingsolver

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake 4

I wanted to make her feel special, the way she’s been doing this to me. And the least I could do was to bake her an egg-free cake. I know my dabbling in the kitchen can never match up to the world’s yummiest food, she’s been cooking for us, with loads and loads of love and affection added to it.

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake 2

I baked this wonderful stone fruit coffee cake and made it more special by taking out the eggs from it. Added sweet and juicy peaches to the cake, and that made it super moist. Instead of topping the cake with a regular flour struesel topping, I sprinkled the top with some chopped walnuts and cinnamon sugar. Aroma of cinnamon accentuated the peach-y-ness of the stone fruit chunks resting inside the cake.

Eggfree Peach Coffee Cake 7

Recipe minimally adapted from Dolcedente

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
½ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius and butter and line a 8 x 8 inch square pan with parchment paper, with some of the extra paper hanging off the two opposite walls of the pan.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and 1 cup of sugar. Add the butter cut into chunks to the flour mixture and whisk until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
  3. Add the buttermilk and vanilla to the flour mixture and whisk to combine well.
  4. Pour 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Layer the batter in pan with peach slices. Pour remaining 1/3 of the batter over peach and spread evenly to cover the peaches. Top with walnuts.
  5. Mix remaining 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon powder and sprinkle over the cake and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in pan over a wire rack.
  6. When cold, cut into 12 squares.

Filed Under: cake Tagged With: coffee cake, eggfree cake, food, mother's day, peach, stone fruit coffee cake

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Hi! I'm Himanshu - a home chef who loves to cook, bake, style and photo shoot... Read More…

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