Ever have one of those days where you just are feelin’ “mehhhhhhh” and just want to burrow back into the pillows and head back to dreamland?  Well, that was me today.  Between the travel, constantly refereeing the furballs, the incessantly ever growing to-do list and lots of other things that are snappin’ at my stilettos, I just wanted to pull the covers over my head and hide.

However, I knew that I had plans to attempt baking in stilettos again – this time with the Barefoot Contessa’s Blueberry Crumb Cake.  I had left out the ingredients overnight to let them come to “room temperature” because my last baking experiment didn’t go so well.  I had some gorgeous blueberries that I picked up from the store and decided to enjoy my afternoon with some baking.

First of all, if I ran a bed and breakfast, you can rest assured that I would serve this regularly.  Not only was it a recipe that was easy enough for this gal, but it came together perfectly.  My only error was of the clumsy factor.  I had a small saucepan with the melted butter cooling and, like from a comedy film, I accidently spilled the warm melted butter ALL. OVER. THE. FLOOR.  Well, the pug, who is still nursing a sprained right back leg acted like he was a pup and came barreling over, tongue outstretched and the neighbors could only hear my scream of “NO WIGGY!  Leave the butter ALONE!  You are NOT Paula Deen!”  It was a losing battle, I tell you.   I think I was more worried that he would slip yet again and hurt his leg even more than him licking up the remnants of the spilled butter.

If you want to surprise your family or just be nice to co-workers, make this – and thank me later.  Just watch out for the butter (and a pug wearing a Paula Deen wig).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Barefoot Contessa’s Blueberry Crumb Cake

Recipe courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

Ingredients

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (Note – I used Large Eggs and it turned out fine.  Please don’t tell Ina! )
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 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 kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

1. Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
2. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

1. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
2. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time.  Mix.
3. Add the the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.
6. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife.
8. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter.
9. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
10. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.

Gather The Ingredients

Don’t Forget to Butter & Flour the pan – it’s crucial!

Making the Streusel – with butter batch #2

Lemons + Blueberries = Heaven

Sifting – another crucial step.

Ahhh – a batter that is good enough to eat

Fresh out of the oven and dusted with sugar

Now, all I need is some coffee – delish!