Babos Receptai (Part 12)

Whoa, you say! This is not the handwriting of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana! How can it be one of "Babos Receptai?"

This recipe was written for me by Tatjana's daughter, Jonė. It's a recipe for Lithuanian Crumb Cake. Although that treat is ubiquitous in Lithuanian cuisine (the crumb cake appears at weddings, teas, and fashion shows), my paternal Grandmother rarely baked it. Tatjana thought her cake, "Babos Pyragas," was much better. I disagreed, and I was disappointed we had no "family recipe" for the Crumb Cake. Fortunately, my Dad's twin sister had one.

Here is how I wrote up the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 1-1/2 cups lingonberry preserves, or other tart jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and dust it all over with fine, dry breadcrumbs. Shake out excess crumbs. Set the prepared baking pan in the freezer while you prepare the ingredients.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread lingonberry preserves evenly over the dough. Carefully crumble the remaining reserved dough over the preserves.

Bake about 30 to 34 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

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BONUS!

A few years after I tweeked this recipe, I started baking it with a cottage-cheese filling. The cheese version is my favorite; here is the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas su Varškė

Crust:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

finely grated rind of one-half lemon

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

scant 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) cottage cheese, drained (measure before draining)

3 tablespoons instant-blending ("Wondra") flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Generously butter and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. 

For crust: Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream; continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears. The mixture will (and should) be crumbly.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan.  Place pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In the workbowl of a food processor, mix together the sugar with the lemon rind until the rind is finely chopped. Add the egg yolks and beat for about one minute, until the mixture becomes thick and pale in color. Add the butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Add the cottage cheese and process until the mixture is entirely free of lumps. Add the flour and process with 2 or 3 on/off pulses.

Spread the filling over prepared crust. Crumble the reserved half of the dough over the filling.

Bake for 30 to 36 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.