Eggless Mulberry Crumb Cake … berry berry good!

Eggless Mulberry Crumb Cake … a delicious way to celebrate this precious delicate berry that defined our childhood, a berry we foraged all summer long as kids, a berry that often announced the arrival of spring. Baking these deeply coloured sweet berries into this eggless crumb cake turned out to be such a delicious treat, such a nice way to bring alive childhood memories, relive the nostalgia.

As kids, the first signs of spring were often bright green tender leaves bursting out of nodes on the mulberry tree or shahtoot as referred to locally in the subcontinent. What soon followed were bunches of little green furry berries that we would wait for to ripen rather impatiently. We quickly learnt that there was no joy in picking off the raw green mulberries so patience was key to happiness. Happiness of course was cramming our mouths with the juiciest, sweetest mulberries we could forage, our fingers, mouths, clothes all stained with deep purplish red juices of this delicious fruit!

My love for mulberries never wore off and I was so pleased when we moved into our home 26 years ago to find a large mulberry tree in the park across the street. As time went by, a few more trees popped up and every year, spring and early summer bore the promise of the most delicious mulberries ever in every shape, size and colour.

Mulberries are always so beautiful to shoot, so inspiring! A couple of trees bore sweet green mulberries, some grew the shorter sweet mulberries though the prized ones were the long, deep red ones, mulberries we shared equally with the birds and squirrels. There were always so many in every shape and size and over the years I put my foraging to good use … Mulberry Lime Coolers, Mulberry Jam, Mulberry Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet, even a Mulberry Cheesecake way back in 2009!

As the years went by, the area got more populated, the park more full of morning walkers and kids and everyone eyed the mulberries, so my better half planted a couple of trees in grow bags on the terrace for me. Those bear a few handfuls of mulberries every year, not enough to bake with or for a dessert yet enough to have me gleefully note the new leaves and mulberries, whooping with happiness to be the first to announce signs of spring. It’s still these little lost joys that bring alive the child in me!

2 weeks ago Man Friday walked in with a big box of the juiciest, sweetest, most delicious mulberries that he said were now available at our local bazaar and I couldn’t believe my eyes or contain my joy. That week went with me cramming my mouth with the most delightful mulberries ever, reliving my childhood, feeling waves of nostalgia. How times have changed!

Over the past few years mulberries are being grown commercially as the demand grows yet the art and joy of foraging for fruit like this, climbing trees, grazing knees, ruining perfectly clean clothes has seems to have been lost forever. With kids having so much more to occupy themselves these days, I cannot remember the last time I saw a kid climb a tree! I spent my childhood outdoors, chasing squirrels, climbing trees – tamarind, mango, mulberry trees. As kids in Bangalore, we attempted to scale coconut trees and date palm trees with little luck and learnt rather painful lessons. We carried on nonchalantly, unfazed. There was always a prize on the other side, loads of deliciousness too sometimes. It’s still always the quaint things I look for … rustic doors, monkeys, pickling jars, peacock feathers, things like that are pure joy!

A little bit about this nutritionally dense berry…

Shahtoot, or mulberry (Morus alba), is a sweet, juicy, and nutrient-dense berry found in shades of black, red, and white across India. Rich in iron, vitamin C, and antioxidants, it offers health benefits like improved immunity, lower cholesterol, and better skin health. It thrives in temperate regions as a fast-growing, low-maintenance tree. Peepal Baba

Back to the real world, once I realised that the mulberries weren’t going anywhere, I knew it was a short window to baking an eggless tea cake. I settled for a crumb or streusel cake because I wasn’t sure how the mulberries would bake. They worked beautifully, the cake turned out very delicious.

What is a crumb cake

A crumb cake or a streusel cake or Streuselkuchen is a coffee cake that originated in Germany. Derived from the German word streuen which means to “to sprinkle” or “scatter”, it was traditionally used on cakes and fruit dishes to add texture. Streusel topping is a crumbly topping made from flour, butter, and sugar. It’s often flavored with cinnamon or other spices and sometimes includes nuts like pecans or walnuts. It’s a versatile topping used on a variety of baked goods, including muffins, coffee cakes, pies, and crisps. The texture provides a delightful contrast to the softer base of the baked item. An interesting fact is that variations exist, such as Dutch crumb topping which often includes oats for a heartier texture.

Serve it as is or with a dollop of cream on the top or side, this Eggless Mulberry Crumb Cake is delicious. I might add some finely chopped nuts to the crumb topping next time, else scatter a layer within. I’m all ready to experiment with the recipe and I think this will work quite nicely with other berries or perhaps stone fruit like peaches, plums and cherries as well.

Eggless Mulberry Crumb Cake

Serve it as is or with a dollop of cream on the top or side, this Eggless Mulberry Crumb Cake is quite delicious. I might add some finely chopped nuts to the crumb topping next time, else scatter a layer within. I'm all ready to experiment with the recipe and I think this will work quite nicely with other berries or perhaps stone fruit like peaches, plums and cherries as well.

Makes one 7" tea cake

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Cooling 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine German

Servings 8 people

Equipment

• 1 Oven
• 1 7" Springform / Loose bottom round baking tin
• 1 Bowl
• 1 whisk
• parchment paper
• 1 small bowl
• 1 spoon

Ingredients

  

Vanilla cake

• 115 g full fat yogurt
• 45 g oil
• 135 g desi khaand raw sugar / castor sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 apple cider vinegar
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 50 g dessicated coconut
• 150 g all purpose flour maida

Mulberry layer

• 250 g mulberries diced if long
• 1 tsp cornflour cornstarch
• 1-2 tbsp desi khaand raw sugar / castor sugar
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Crumb topping

• 100 g all-purpose flour maida
• 75 g brown sugar
• 15 g castor sugar
• 75 g unsalted butter soft, room temperature
• vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Mulberry layer

• Toss all the ingredients gently in a glass bowl using a spoon. Reserve

Crumb topping

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars and vanilla. Gently cut in the butter using a pastry knife or your finger tips to get a pea sized crumb. Reserve

Eggless Mulberry Cake

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Lightly grease and line the base and sides of a round 7" springform tin or a loose bottom tin.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, apple cider and salt for 2-3 minutes. Leave to stand for 5 minutes until bubbly.
• Whisk in the desiccated coconut, then fold in the flour, spread evenly and bake for 20 minutes. Add in a tbsp or two of buttermilk/milk if the batter feels dry.
• Take the tin out of the oven carefully, top with the mulberry mix followed by the crumble. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crumble is golden brown. Tent with foil towards the end if the crumble is overbrowning.
• Cool for at least an hour before demolding. If you slice the cake while still warm the crumb might not hold in place as it’s very delicate. Use a serrated knife to slice the cake. I like to chill the cake overnight and then slice it. It tastes lovely both ways. Serve it with a lightly sweetened whipped cream or warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Notes

You could prepare the mulberry layer and the crumb topping while the cake is baking.

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