Spiced Green Tomato Crumb Cake Recipe
If you love tomatoes, you're going to love this recipe from the TOMATOES: a SAVOR THE SOUTH® cookbook today!
Spiced Green Tomato Crumb Cake
From TOMATOES: a SAVOR THE SOUTH® cookbook by Miriam Rubin. Copyright © 2013 by Miriam Rubin. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press. www.uncpress.unc.edu
Boozy raisins, warm spices, and a pecan- crumb topping star in this cake. The green tomatoes add texture, moisture, and a bit of whimsy. Use the precise amount of them; the weight and cup measures are your guides. This cake freezes beautifully.
Makes 12 or more servings
For the topping
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄3 cup all- purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄2 cup chopped pecans
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the cake
• 1⁄2 cup golden raisins, soaked in 1⁄4 cup bourbon or Jack Daniels
• 2–3 medium, firm green tomatoes (14 ounces), cored, pared with a vegetable peeler, and cut into 1⁄2- inch pieces (2 1⁄2 cups)
• 2 1⁄4 cups all- purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fine table salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt (don't use Greek yogurt)
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 13x9-inch glass baking dish.
To make the topping, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and ginger in a medium bowl. Add the pecans and butter and mix with your fingers or a fork until crumbly. Set the topping aside.
To make the cake, soak the raisins in the bourbon for about 30 minutes. Put the green tomatoes in a colander and place in the sink to drain until needed. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a large bowl.
Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in another large bowl until creamy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; scrape the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk or yogurt, just until mixed.
By hand, fold in the drained green tomatoes and the raisins with any unabsorbed bourbon. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with the topping.
Bake until the cake is browned and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and serve the cake warm or at room temperature.
