Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Jo-Ann Roberts

I descend from a family of excellent Italian cooks and bakers, and in the case of my grandparents, specifically my maternal grandfather, Luigi D’Ambrosi, prolific gardeners.

After he married my grandmother, Olivetta, a widow with four children, they set up housekeeping on Willow Street in Rensselaer, NY, just over the Hudson River from Albany. To pay the bills for their growing family (they added five more children!), he took a job at Huyuck Paper Mill. But his true passion was his garden.

The four-bedroom house was nestled into the side of a hill. It was on that hill where my grandfather worked his magic. In those dozens or more raised beds, he grew tomatoes, peppers, Italian pole beans (planted from seeds he carried from Italy), lettuce, and zucchini. Sprawling vines of watermelons, cucumbers, and cantalopes spilled down the other side of the hill, past rows of corn.

But further up on that hill, wild blueberries grew on low bushes…bushes just right for his grandchildren to pick a bucket or two for supper or for baking a Blueberry Tea Cake.

I remember this cake having blueberries bursting in every bite. But for me, the crumb topping just added that sweetness that every kid enjoyed licking off their fingers.

Since those carefree summer days, four generations of our family have enjoyed baking and eating this cake.  And the best part is that anyone can pretty much whip up this cake on a moment’s notice, as all of the ingredients (besides the berries) are pantry staples and it takes so little time to assemble. Buon Apetito!

 

Blueberry Tea Cake

Yields 9-12 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 3/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

For the crumb topping:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8×8 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
2. To make the crumb topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Add the cold butter and toss to coat, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Beat in egg and milk until well combined.
7. Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar mixture at low speed, beating just until incorporated.
8. Gently fold in the blueberries.
9. Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish.
10. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter.
11. Place into oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
12. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.