Berry Streusal Cake

This is one of those recipes I have had for years, torn out of a magazine and kept as a scruffy piece of paper, but never used. Then the last frozen berries in the freezer caught my eye and this turned out to be a really delicious pudding/cake - lovely warm with cream or creme fraiche and very good cold with coffee, a cup of tea or just in passing! I used raspberries and redcurrants but as long as they are sharp you could use any others, from your own harvest or bought for the purpose - even rhubarb might work... This is good enough for visitors and to show off in any case. 

Berry Streusal Cake
200g P flour
110g ground almonds
110g castor sugar
225g butter chilled
40g flaked almonds
40g pine nuts - strictly optional - you could add more almonds instead
400 - 450g berries (I used 200g redcurrants and 250g raspberries)
2 good spoonfuls of raspberry jam or another sharp tasting one


No 4/180
20cm cake tin with removable base


NB This uses a food processor but of course if you don't have one, good old fingertips will be fine. Use the rubbing in action as for pastry at the first stage and then form the shortbread base with your hands and a palette knife.

1. Put the flour, ground almonds, sugar and diced butter into a food processor and mix to crumbs. 
2. As soon as it looks like crumble mixture, stop and put half the mixture in a bowl. 
3. Add the nuts to this.
4. Continue to process the rest until the mixture forms a smooth pastry dough.
5. Press this into the base of your tin, smoothing out with your hands.
6. Mix the berries and jam together gently and then put these on top of the base.
7. Scatter the crumble/ streusal mixture on top.
8. Bake for 45 mins till the top is golden and you can see the juices starting to bubble.
9. Cool for a while at least. The shortbread base gets firmer when cold.