Mother's Day Brunch

I grew to love brunch in college, when a bunch of us would cram into a long booth, order lots of food, and tell stories about what happened the night before.  Now, it's the leisurely pace of it, and the choices. Do I want sweet- blueberry pancakes- or salty- an omelet?  (Hash browns and English muffins usually win me over to the salty side.)

It makes sense that lots of people celebrate the woman who brought them into this world with brunch, because we get to take the time to enjoy each other's company over a leisurely Sunday meal, and- Really. Appreciate. Life.

I prepared this easy Baked French Toast the night before, with Portuguese sweet bread (it was the closest thing they had to Challah) instead of Italian bread, and some vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest in the egg mixture, and served it with strawberries and maple syrup.  I made this fritatta with spinach instead of arugula because they didn't have any at the store. I doubled the garlic and kept it in (the recipe says to take it out- why??), and added a little crushed red pepper.  We also had plenty of bacon, and bloody marys.

For dessert, I turned this Barefoot Contessa recipe UPSIDE DOWN by using dark brown sugar instead of light because I didn't have any, and raspberries instead of blueberries. 

Raspberry Crumb Cake
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the streusel: 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pint fresh raspberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.
For the streusel, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the raspberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out. Crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Mine was perfectly cooked with the full 50 minutes.  It was all you would want in a coffee cake and more.  I will double the raspberries next time.  The little morsels were delicious when found, but more of them would be even better.

We spent the later part of the day visiting with my in-laws, who had plants that needed splitting.  We happily obliged, and brought home a bunch of irises, some bee balm, and a hibiscus. 

I hope you all had a leisurely and happy Mother's Day.