The Weekend House Guest

I’m not a big fan of the sleepover.


Perhaps it’s the control freak in me, because honestly I felt this way even during my childhood days when little girls lived for sleepovers, staying up all night giggling with friends, watching horror movies and eating junk food.

The Jersey Girl needs to be in her own bed with fav blankies and pillow, huge glass of water by her side, ceiling fan on second setting, complete silence in her surroundings. And even under these conditions, a good night’s sleep is NOT guaranteed.

But, if you are having me over for the weekend, you can pretty much guarantee that homemade baked goods will greet you upon my arrival. It’s my way of shouting out, “thank you for putting up with my high-maintenance self.”

Such was the case on Memorial Day weekend, when The Husband and moi headed down the Shore. (That’s how we Jersey folks say, “going to the beach.”) My rockin’ in-laws live in Stone Harbor, and they have an open-door policy for The Hubs and me.

Yay!

The weather was way gorg on Sunday. And we had a great time with the fam.

My father-in-law grooves on blackberries, so I took an awesome recipe for Raspberry-Sour Cream Coffee Cake from my new fav cookbook, “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book” and swapped out the raspberries for blackberries. The cake was amazing. If I wasn’t prego and if it wasn’t 100 degrees out when I made the cake, a nice cup of tea would have been fabulous as an accompaniment. The buttery topping is just heavenly and decadent all at once. How ironic, right?

Blackberries are more tart than sweet. If you haven’t had them, you may want to taste them first. Or, just stick with the raspberries, which should be berry berry sweet.

Raspberry (Or Blackberry)-Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Makes one 10-inch cake
From “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book”

For the topping:
1 cup (5 oz/155 g) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (5 oz/155 g) granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup (4 oz/125 g) unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:
1 ¾ cups (9 oz/280 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) sour cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups (8 oz/250 g) fresh raspberries
2 Tbsp. confectioners’ (icing) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Grease and flour a 10-inch (25-cm) round springform pan. To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and zest. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sour cream mixture. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Cover evenly with the raspberries. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the berries.

Bake until the topping is golden brown, 38-42 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust with the confectioners’ sugar and serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.