One saturday, Greg Brainin, my director of creative development, threw this together for his daughters. When he made it for me the following Monday, I knew it would become a regular weekend treat for my family, too. It’s as comforting as a classic buttery coffee cake, but the crunch of raw sugar and sea salt in the topping makes it taste refreshingly new.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 8

　　

BLUEBERRY CAKE

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, preferably cultured, melted, plus more for the pan

　　1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

　　1 large egg, at room temperature

　　1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

　　1/3 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped, pod reserved for another use

　　1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

　　3/4 cup granulated sugar

　　1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

　　3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

　　1 pint blueberries

　　

SPICED CRUMBLE TOPPING

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

　　3 tablespoons granulated sugar

　　1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

　　3 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably cultured, cut up and chilled

　　1 tablespoon raw sugar

　　1 teaspoon Maldon salt or other flaky sea salt

　　

Step 1

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 9 × 5-inch nonstick loaf pan.

　　

Step 2

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, yolk, and vanilla seeds until well blended. Continue whisking while drizzling in the butter.

　　

Step 3

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the buttermilk mixture and whisk until just blended. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

　　

Step 4

To make the topping, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and allspice in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingers until the mixture is crumbly with a few pea-sized pieces remaining. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter. Sprinkle the raw sugar and Maldon salt evenly over the topping.

　　

Step 5

Bake until deep golden brown and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Unmold and cut into slices to serve.

　　Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family.Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.