crumb cake

january 12, 2008 @ 22:09

Check out this awesome crumb cake I whipped-up this morning after hockey. It was pretty easy and it turned out great. Especially the crumbs. And that's good because let's be honest, crumbs are the whole point of a crumb cake. As usual, my secret ingredient was love. And butter. More butter than love, actually. So yeah, make sure you have extra butter on hand. Also: make sure you know that Germans refer to this cake as 'krummelkuchen', because it may or may not be outrageously fun to say that 1000 times while you make and eat your version. I'll let you decide. (Hint: it totally is.)

The recipe is below. It's from a magazine I read. That I won't name in an attempt to throw their internet 'take down' goonsquads off my track, thereby sparing all 3 of you from having to pay for a silly crumb cake recipe. And by "silly" I mean "full of butter and delicious".

Also: yes, that's my favorite kick ass Evla pottery coffee mug peeking into the picture. Both it and this crumb cake make me want to dance.

Crumb Cake

For the crumbs
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c dark brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
pinch salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and warm
1 3/4 c cake flour

  1. Mix everything but flour together with wisk.
  2. Add flour and stir with spatula until it's doughy.
  3. Set it aside.


For the cake
1 1/4 c cake flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft and cool, cut into 6 pieces
1 egg plus one yolk
1 t vanilla
1/3 c buttermilk

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Line 8 inch square pan with parchment and spray it with cooking spary.
  3. Put all dry stuff into mixer bowl.
  4. With mixer running on low, add butter one piece at a time.
  5. When it looks like moist crumbs, kick the mixer up to medium high add all the wet.
  6. Mix for another minute or so until it's light and fluffy.
  7. Dump into cake pan. Spread it around evenly with spatula.
  8. Using your fingers, break the topping into little large pea sized flavor bombs and sprinkle them onto cake. Note: I said 'sprinkle', not 'smash them into cake'.
  9. Bake for 35 - 40 min or until toothpick test passes.
  10. Rest for 30 minutes.
  11. Blast with powdered sugar before serving if that's your style.

You're welcome.

[comments]

  1. dad thought:

    Martha Stewart Living?

  2. dave thought:

    sorry, narc, you're way off.

  3. amy thought:

    Couldn't be MSL, it doesn't qualify the ingredients, e.g. "1/3 cup fresh, best-quality butter milk."
    My guess is C.I.

  4. dave thought:

    KRUMMELKUCHEN

  5. dad thought:

    http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=4213&bdc=50556&extcode=L8AN3BJ00#topOfPage

  6. dad thought:

    VIDEO: Crumb Cake
    Authentic crumb cake should have a proper crumb topping, which is softer and more cookielike than a streusel topping. The crumbs should be sturdy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside, and they should remain cohesive when the cake is baked. Mixing the crumbs in a food processor renders them too fine and almost sandy. Creating the best crumb topping requires a cook to be "all thumbs"; here's how to make it.

  7. dave thought:

    when they hit me with a takedown i'll be sure to tell them my dad is a rat.

  8. Mel thought:

    Sure that link looks like the same recipe based on the ingredients, but let's point out the differences. Dave's crumb cake pic looks 50x better than that other link's pic. Also, Dave's numerated steps are so much easier to follow. I especially enjoy step #10 where I get to rest for 30 minutes. Thanks Dave! I can't wait to make it this weekend.

  9. dave thought:

    all valid points. and enjoy your rest. you'll need all the energy you can get to eat all those crumbs.

    KRUMMELKUCHEN!!!

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