Sweet Treats: Vegan Berry Cornmeal Crumble

I look forward to Sundays for a number of reasons, and nothing makes this one day of the week when it’s okay to be lazy more perfect than baking. It fills the house and body with warm, comforting smells, and the leftovers provide a little extra incentive for making it through the work week.

This Sunday, with the crispness of autumn settling in, I decided to do a variation on a recipe from my go-to cookbook, Deb Perelman‘s The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Normally Deb’s recipes–for desserts and non-desserts alike–are extremely vegetarian-friendly, but baking always requires an extra bit of knowledge and ingredients. Since I substituted so many from her original, I’ve given this cake a new name and hope I did her proud with the tweaks. The result was a moist, not-too-sweet cake that is healthy enough to eat in the late morning but will make a great dessert come Wednesday.

Vegan Berry Cornmeal Crumble

(adapted from Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Knopf, 2012)

Serves 12-16

For the cake:

1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/4 c. canola oil

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. table salt

1 cup organic cane sugar

2 T. ground flax meal + 6 T. water (the equivalent of 2 eggs)

1/4 t. agave

1 t. lemon juice

1/3 cup Tofutti non-dairy Sour Supreme (I used Greek yogurt, as a non-fat substitute for regular sour cream)

2 cups mixed berries (any combination of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and/or blackberries)

For the streussel:

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

6 T. whole wheat flour

2 T. stone ground yellow cornmeal

1/2 T. cinnamon (or less, per your preference)

Pinch table salt

2 T. unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment.

Combine the applesauce, oil, and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the flax-water mixture, agave, and lemon juice. Add flour, then sour cream/yogurt, then cornmeal, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add baking powder and salt. Fold in berries with a rubber scraper, being careful not to crush them. Pour batter into prepared pan.

To make the streussel, mix together the dry ingredients in a separate medium bowl. Add the applesauce and mash with a fork until crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over the batter.