New-York Style Crumb Cake

This is Jack, have you met him yet?

One of the first things I made when I went home for Winter break this year was a crumb cake. Like many of the things I bake, this is one of my mom's favorites. What I like most about this recipe is the size of the crumbs- they're huge! That's all Jack wanted- a crumb.

I might have dropped a crumb or two on the floor "on accident". This is really a great recipe. Keep it on hand for when you have a house full of family or friends. It works any hour of the day, as breakfast, a snack, or dessert.



New York-Style Crumb Cake
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

For crumb topping:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour

For cake:

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature (I used sour cream)
Set an oven rack to the upper-middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the crumb topping until they form a smooth dough. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the cake.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt at low speed. With the mixer running on low, add the butter chunks one at a time, letting each one incorporate into the dry ingredients before adding another. When the mixture resembles even, moist crumbs, add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk, and increase the speed to medium. Beat until the batter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Break apart the crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces, rolling them slightly in between your fingertips to get them to hold their shape. Spread the crumbs in even layer over the batter. Bake until the crumbs are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.