This perfect little summer crumb cake wants to be filled with all those glorious things from the market that beg for attention each time I go.  Peaches with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or cherries – whatever you love. (Keep the peaches intact.) In my mind, I baked it and had my girlfriends over for tea. Except it’s too hot to drink tea, or to ask people to leave their houses.  So Tyson and I  ate it for breakfast. Also: it was a little too luscious to share.

I made it with peaches, raspberries, and cherries — because I love cherries and almonds together, especially.

And it’s summer, so I get to use my seashell measuring spoons. (It’s weird that I have summer measuring spoons.)

The cake starts with a buttery sour cream batter pressed into a springform pan.

Which is then topped with a stewed fruit mixture that is just as delicious eaten with a spoon, or served over ice cream. It  really doesn’t need the cake.

Then more batter, almonds, and raw sugar are piled on top.

Oh, baby.

Summer distilled.

Raspberry Peach Crumb Cake

(Recipe from Seven Spoons, via Simple Pleasures. It was originally adapted from Inn Cuisine.)

Ingredients

4 ounces fresh raspberries

4 ounces fresh cherries, pitted and halved
2 medium peaches, peeled and sliced into chunks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, cold and diced
1/3 cup sliced (flaked) almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
coarse sugar for dusting

Preheat an oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, or a 10-inch springform pan.

In a medium saucepan, toss the raspberries, cherries and peaches with the cornstarch to coat. Stir in the sugar and cook over medium heat until bubbling and thick. Remove from the heat and mash the fruit slightly. Set aside to cool slightly.

For the cake, in a medium bowl stir together the sour cream, milk, egg and vanilla. Set aside.

Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Using fingers, two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until you have a texture that resembles coarse meal. Remove 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture to a small bowl and stir through the almonds. Set aside.

To the remaining flour mixture, whisk in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquids. Using light, quick strokes, stir until only just combined. The batter should be thick, but smooth.

Take about 2/3 of the batter and spread it across the bottom and up 1-inch of the sides of the prepared pan. Damp fingers or a wet palette knife make easy work of this. Spoon the reserved raspberry filling over the batter, gently spreading to cover and leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edge. Dollop irregular mounds of the remaining dough over the fruit layer, again using damp fingers or a wet palette knife to coax the batter to almost cover – some gaps are good. Top with the crumb topping over all and then sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons or so of coarse sugar.

Place on a sheet pan and bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool, in pan on a rack, for 15 minutes. Remove from the tart pan and serve at warm or at room temperature.

Makes one 10-inch cake.