Girl's Day Out

Yesterday found my best friend, Amina, and I in a flurry of beautiful things. We skipped our morning jog and, instead, dressed up to make a jam cake--which we ate out on the patio-- as well asvisit a few antique stores, make a stir-fry for lunch, and watch two absolutely terrible movies starring Jackson Rathbone: S. Darko, and Twilight. They were both awful, but we had a beautiful, lovely day.

Here are some pictures of our delicious jam cake, recipe from Gourmet magazine, December 2007, to follow.



Jam Crumb Cake

For Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 stick butter, melted
1/2 milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup raspberry jam
For Crumb Topping:
3/4 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in the middle. Generously butter a 9-inch square or round cake pan.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Whisk together butter, milk, and egg in a large bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
3. Pour batter into cake pan. Dollop jam all over surface, then swirl into batter with a spoon.
4. In another bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, then blend with your fingertips until incorporated.
5. Sprinkle crumbs in large clumps over top of cake.
6. Bake cake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Enjoy with a mild, fruity tea (we had a pomegranate green tea) or a smoky black.