TWD: Cranberry Almond Crumb Cake

I was so excited when this recipe was chosen because it finally gave me the excuse to make a crumb cake! I've bookmarked so many, but never got to making any of them because there was always something else I had to try instead. Plus, I was a little worried about the crumb topping turning all soggy on me. I was kind of rushed when I was making this and somehow I poured 3/4 cup of buttermilk after reading 1/2 cup. Luckily the batter was so thick and it all worked out in the end! Also, cranberries have less moisture than blueberries so I guess the extra liquid was ok. I omitted the spices and added 1/4 tsp of almond extract. The combination of cranberries and almond was really nice and next time I'm going to add more of each, since you can't even tell I added cranberries along with a dash of cinnamon. The sourness of the cranberries helped to cut some of the sweetness in the topping, which was a really nice contrast! I loved making this because I love cake batter, not uncooked though, just looking at how incredibly smooth and creamy it is. Umm the truth is.. I'm not a batter licker and it's not because of the raw eggs, but the raw flour. Maybe it just brings back childhood nightmares about oatmeal or cream of wheat..haha. I threw all the crumb ingredients together (minus 2 tablespoons of butter and brown sugar, which I added at the end because I forgot) in the stand mixer and mixed it using the paddle attachment because I was too lazy to clean the food processor. The only problem was I was left with something that looked more like wet sand than coarse crumbs. I had a feeling my sand would just melt into the batter so I squeezed a handful of it and dropped it on top to form as many large clumps as possible. The crumb topping was a hit and dangerously addicting!

Thanks to Sihan of Befuddlement for choosing this recipe! The recipe can be found on her blog and here. Don't forget to visit the TWD Blogroll!