-STREUSEL TOPPING-
115 g Unsalted butter; softened
175 g Sugar
50 g Brown sugar
75 g Plain flour
50 g Toasted hazelnuts; chopped
1 1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
1/2 ts Ground nutmeg
1/4 ts Salt
-CREAM CHEESE FILLING-
350 g Cream cheese
75 g Sugar
1 Egg
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tb Lemon juice
1 ts Almond essence
CAKE
450 g Plain flour
4 ts Baking powder
1 ts Salt
450 g Unsalted butter
275 g Sugar
2 Eggs; lightly beaten
1 ts Almond essence
275 ml Milk
450 g Fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5. Generously butter a 53x23cm glass
baking dish.
To prepare the topping, rub together all the ingredients with
fingertips or a pastry blender in a medium bowl, until well blended
and large crumbs form. Set aside.
To prepare the filling: soften the cream cheese and beat with the
sugar until creamy in a medium bowl using an electric mixer, scraping
down the side of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg, grated lemon
rind and juice and almond essence until smooth. Set aside.
To prepare the cake, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a
bowl. In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the softened
butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Gradually beat in the eggs until very light and smooth. Beat in the
almond essence. Beat in the flour mixture on low speed, alternating
with the milk and ending with the flour mixture, until well blended.
If the mixture is too stiff, add a little more milk. Gently fold in
the washed and dried blueberries.
Spread slightly less than half the cake mixture on the bottom of the
dish, smoothing the surface and pushing into corners. Gently spread
the cream cheese filling over the cake mixture and lightly sprinkle
about one quarter of the streusel topping over the filling. Drop
spoonfuls of the remaining mixture over the top and spread evenly,
trying not to mix the layers. Sprinkle the remaining topping evenly
over the surface.
Bake until the topping is crunchy and golden brown and a skewer
inserted into the centre comes out with just a few crumbs attached,
about 1 hour. Remove to a wire rack and cool until the cake is just
warm. Cut into squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Be sure to use an ovenproof glass dish, as the blueberries could
react with the metal. (A porcelain dish would not allow the cake to
cook completely).
Yields
12 servings