One rich crumb cake...

The fresh berries are slowly starting to trickle in up here and we especially took notice when we came across some plump raspberries at the market! I thought it would be nice to work them into the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day with this decadent Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake.

When you see crumb cake, you know you need to prepare yourself for the ingredient list - try not to be scared off when you see all the butter that went into this! I promise those calories were put to good work in this cake and as soon as you take your first bite, you will know it's going to be worth a little extra exercise to burn it off!

Before getting the batter together, those extravagant crumbs that are laid on top need to be prepared. This is done by working chunks of butter into flour and plenty of brown sugar - you can use a pastry blender, but your fingers work just as well to marry the ingredients together. When the butter had broken down and created those crumbs, we tossed in quality white chocolate chips - I say "quality", meaning, be sure to use a brand that has cocoa butter in the ingredient list to get the best flavor.

While there isn't anything too unusual in the batter for this cake, what made this a little more special is the dose of almond extract, in addition to the vanilla, to imprint a richer depth into its core. To play off the crumb topping, when I added the last of the dry ingredients, I also tossed in a couple handfuls of that white chocolate to get combined. Those delicate fresh raspberries were added last and folded in just enough to get them evenly distributed through. Once the batter found its home in the baking pan, that crumbly topping we got out of the way first was finally showered on top to really set this cake off.

While the sweet fragrance that poured off this cake might be calling you to take a sample, once this cake comes out of the oven, keep any fingers or utensils away until it has cooled off enough to let the crumb relax and set those chocolate pieces. When I finally couldn't take it anymore and cut out a couple squares for us to try out, I was first smitten with how I felt the tender, faintly almond-scented cake turned into a vehicle to just get at that outrageous topping! But, after nibbling away, I came to appreciate the denseness (though not heavy) of the base, along with those dainty berries who got their groove on with the creamy treasures of white chocolate drops. I could go on, but I think I'll just slink back downstairs and sneak a few more bites before they travel into the office in the morning!

Recipes
Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake