When I first tried this blueberry crumb cake, it was so good, that I demanded of the chef that she give me the recipe. I then sat on this recipe for a while. I was waiting for the right time to arrive. And finally one day, it did. When I was at the produce market, sitting there on the shelf, waiting for me, were fresh organic California-grown blueberries at $4 a pound. It become suddenly clear to me. Blueberry crumb cake!

And so I embarked to make the blueberry crumb cake recipe, but after reading over the ingredients I decided that it needed some changes. I cut back on the sugar and substituted their crumb cake topping for the tried and trusted one my mother has always made. I was very pleased with the results. This one undoubtedly gets my seal of approval.

Step 1: Go Get Stuff

You will need:

for the cake:
1-1/2 cups of sugar
2 sticks softened butter
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
2-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 quarts of fresh blueberries

crumb topping:
2 sticks of chilled butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons of cinnamon
A pinch of salt
2-1/2 cups flour

kitchen stuff:
A deep baking tray
Pastry blender
mixing spoon
utensils
etc

Step 2: Wash the Blueberries

Rinse off the blueberries in a colander and give them a few shakes to help get the water off. Let them sit to dry.

Step 3: Grease the Pan

Lightly grease the pan with the end of a stick of butter

You can also simply use the residue left on the butter wrapper itself.

Step 4: Sweet Butter

Add two sticks of softened butter to a large bowl. Pour in a cup and a half of sugar. Beat it until its thoroughly mixed and you have worked out most of the large clumps of butter.

Step 5: Eggs

Add an egg. Mix it in completely.

Repeat twice more.

Step 6: Vanilla

Mix two teaspoons of vanilla in next.

Step 7: Preheat the Oven

Now is about a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees (if you haven't already done so).

Make sure that one of your own racks is in the middle of your oven before you do this.

Step 8: Dry Stuff

Mix together two and half cups of flour and two teaspoons of baking powder in a separate bowl.

Step 9: Wet Stuff

Mix milk and 3 egg yolks in another separate bowl.

To separate egg yolks, crack an eggs and dump the contents gently into your hands. Let the white of the egg ooze through your fingers. You should be left with a perfect yolk.

Step 10: Mixing It All Together

Dump 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter and sugar bowl. Stir it in completely.

Dump 1/2 of the egg and milk mixture into the butter bowl. Stir that in completely.

Dump another 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter and sugar bowl. Stir it in completely.

Dump the remaining 1/2 of the egg and milk mixture into the butter bowl. Stir that in completely.

Dump the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter and sugar bowl. Stir it in completely.

In other words, stir it in as such: flour, milk, flour, milk, flour.

Step 11: Pan It

Pour the batter into your cake pan and spread it out so that it covers the entire pan and is roughly and inch deep.

Place the blueberries on the top of the batter and gently press them in.

Step 12: Crumby

To make crumbs, add to a large mixing bowl:

2 sticks of chilled butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons of cinnamon
A pinch of salt
2-1/2 cups flour

Mix it all together with a pastry blender until you have crumbs. When you are about done, you can help shape the crumbs by using your hands and squeezing the mixture between your fingers.

Step 13: Spread Crumbs

Spread the crumbs evenly over the top of your cake.

Step 14: Bake

Place your cake onto a middle tray in the oven and spend the next 45 - 60 minutes cleaning the kitchen until your cake is ready.

Your cake is ready when the top starts to golden and brown. If you stick in a toothpick, it should come out without any wet batter on it (gooey blueberry is okay).