Monday morning, pre-dawn breakfast baking! It’s going to be a long week. I have some big work deadlines that need to be finished bit by bit this week before Friday, it’s to be HOT again this week. And I forgot to buy my usual breakfast food at the shops over the weekend. So, as I am always awake before dawn, I decided to bake this Red Currant Crumble-Top Coffee Cake. Sweet and tart and delicious. Don’t have red currant, this recipe can also be made with fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, cranberries or stone fruit like peaches, plums or apricots, cut to 1/2 inch or less pieces (note: if going for the fruit vs berries option, I would cut the fruit and then par-freeze before mixing in to the batter.
Ingredients
for the crumble topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
for the coffee cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh or frozen (not dried) red currant
Makes 1 5×9 inch or 2 4×6 inch loaves
Directions
Heat oven to 350F. Create a parchment paper or foil sling for your loaf pan (optional) and spray generously with baking spray.
First make your topping as it is better if you can shill it for 10-20 minutes before topping the loaf. Mix sugar, flour, melted butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork until it looks like coarse sand. refrigerate for a little while as you make the loaf batter.
Cream butter with lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Then whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the currants.
Spread batter into pan(s). Sprinkle crumble over loaf before baking. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary, especially if the berries were frozen.) Let cool to room temperature before cutting, otherwise it will likely just crumble if you cut it too soon.
