Strawberry Buckle with Lemon-Pistachio Streusel

Preparation TO MAKE THE STREUSEL, cut the butter into small chunks and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and zest. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse beach sand, about 2 minutes. Add the pistachios and mix just until the streusel begins to clump together and look like gravel, being careful not to let it come together to form a dough. If not using the streusel right away, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. TO MAKE THE CAKE, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the eggs and the vanilla extract and whisk vigorously until well blended. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg mixture very slowly, in a steady stream, and mix until well-incorporated and very smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed for 30 more seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until uniform in texture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the fruit until evenly incorporated. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE, pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth it with an offset or rubber spatula, and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the streusel is dry and golden and the buckle is firm and springs back when gently pressed in the center, rotating the pan midway through the baking time. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Stored in a covered container at room temperature, it will keep for up to 3 days. Substitutions: The buckle allows us to showcase seasonal fruit in our pastry cases; for example, a traditional blueberry buckle with vanilla-almond streusel in the spring; a raspberry and peach buckle with lemon-pistachio streusel in the summer; pumpkin buckle with spiced walnut streusel in the autumn; or a roasted mandarin buckle with pecan streusel in the winter. Substitute an equal amount of any fruit for the strawberries. Substitute any nut for the pistachios, and add any type of citrus zest to the streusel. For a pumpkin buckle, substitute 3/4 cup pureed roasted pumpkin or other winter squash (see Note) for the fruit, and add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and cinnamon to the flour mixture when making the cake. Note: To make pumpkin puree, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Halve an edible variety of pumpkin or an acorn, kabocha, curry, or butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Put the halves face down on an oiled baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, until the squash collapses and is easily pierced with a knife. Let cool until it can be handled safely, then scrape out the pulp. Mash or process in a food processor until smooth. For a quicker, if less distinguished puree, it's fine to use unsweetened canned pumpkin puree. Reprinted with permission from The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes by James Freeman, Caitlin Freeman, and Tara Duggan. Copyright © 2012 by James Freeman; photographs copyright © 2012 by Clay McLachlan. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher James Freeman is the founder and owner of Blue Bottle Coffee Company. After starting out in a tiny converted potting shed in Oakland a few years ago, Blue Bottle is now the country's leading artisan roaster, with six cafés in the San Francisco Bay Area, roasteries on both coasts, and a presence on the High Line and in Rockefeller Ceneter and Chelsea in Manhattan. In addition to its cafés, Blue Bottle is served in fine restaurants nationwide, including Chez Panisse, Gramery Tavern, Coi, and others, and regularly garners national media attention. See www.bluebottlecoffee.com for more. Caitlin Freeman is the resident pastry chef for Blue Bottle Coffee Company and was a longtime owner of the San Francisco cake and sweets shop, Miette. James and Caitlin Freeman live in San Francisco, CA. A staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle's food section for ten years, Tara Duggan earned a James Beard Award for best newspaper column and was nominated for an additional James Beard Award for feature writing. She lives with her family in San Francisco, and this is her third book.

Preparation TO MAKE THE STREUSEL, cut the butter into small chunks and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and zest. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse beach sand, about 2 minutes. Add the pistachios and mix just until the streusel begins to clump together and look like gravel, being careful not to let it come together to form a dough. If not using the streusel right away, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. TO MAKE THE CAKE, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the eggs and the vanilla extract and whisk vigorously until well blended. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg mixture very slowly, in a steady stream, and mix until well-incorporated and very smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed for 30 more seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until uniform in texture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the fruit until evenly incorporated. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE, pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth it with an offset or rubber spatula, and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the streusel is dry and golden and the buckle is firm and springs back when gently pressed in the center, rotating the pan midway through the baking time. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Stored in a covered container at room temperature, it will keep for up to 3 days. Substitutions: The buckle allows us to showcase seasonal fruit in our pastry cases; for example, a traditional blueberry buckle with vanilla-almond streusel in the spring; a raspberry and peach buckle with lemon-pistachio streusel in the summer; pumpkin buckle with spiced walnut streusel in the autumn; or a roasted mandarin buckle with pecan streusel in the winter. Substitute an equal amount of any fruit for the strawberries. Substitute any nut for the pistachios, and add any type of citrus zest to the streusel. For a pumpkin buckle, substitute 3/4 cup pureed roasted pumpkin or other winter squash (see Note) for the fruit, and add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and cinnamon to the flour mixture when making the cake. Note: To make pumpkin puree, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Halve an edible variety of pumpkin or an acorn, kabocha, curry, or butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Put the halves face down on an oiled baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, until the squash collapses and is easily pierced with a knife. Let cool until it can be handled safely, then scrape out the pulp. Mash or process in a food processor until smooth. For a quicker, if less distinguished puree, it's fine to use unsweetened canned pumpkin puree. Reprinted with permission from The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes by James Freeman, Caitlin Freeman, and Tara Duggan. Copyright © 2012 by James Freeman; photographs copyright © 2012 by Clay McLachlan. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher James Freeman is the founder and owner of Blue Bottle Coffee Company. After starting out in a tiny converted potting shed in Oakland a few years ago, Blue Bottle is now the country's leading artisan roaster, with six cafés in the San Francisco Bay Area, roasteries on both coasts, and a presence on the High Line and in Rockefeller Ceneter and Chelsea in Manhattan. In addition to its cafés, Blue Bottle is served in fine restaurants nationwide, including Chez Panisse, Gramery Tavern, Coi, and others, and regularly garners national media attention. See www.bluebottlecoffee.com for more. Caitlin Freeman is the resident pastry chef for Blue Bottle Coffee Company and was a longtime owner of the San Francisco cake and sweets shop, Miette. James and Caitlin Freeman live in San Francisco, CA. A staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle's food section for ten years, Tara Duggan earned a James Beard Award for best newspaper column and was nominated for an additional James Beard Award for feature writing. She lives with her family in San Francisco, and this is her third book.