Classic Crumb Cake Recipes

OLD FASHIONED CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch baking pan or casserole dish.
• Combine sugar, flour and butter. Use a fork to cut butter in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture to use as topping.
• To the remaining flour mixture, add cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. Lightly stir in the buttermilk and egg. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle cake with reserved topping.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean.

CLASSIC CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9 by 9-inch baking pan and sprinkle with a little gluten-free flour mix, tapping out any extra.
• To make the crumb topping, whisk together the flour mix, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the light brown sugar and cinnamon and whisk again. Add the chilled shortening, and using a pastry blender or two knives, blend until you have a pea-sized crumb. Set aside.
• To make the cake, whisk together the flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Combine the vegan yogurt and cider vinegar. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, granulated sugar, egg replacer, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the surface. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top, using your fingers to clump some of it together into larger crumbs (think bakery aisle crumb coffee cake).
• Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the cake springs back when touched lightly.
• Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a large plate, cover with a cooling rack, and reinvert onto the rack crumb-side up. Let cool completely. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the top, and cut into squares. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

CLASSIC CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F Lightly grease a 9" square cake pan.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt and flavorings for 2 minutes, till smooth.
• Add the eggs, beating well after each addition; continue beating after adding the last egg for at least 3 minutes at medium-high speed. The batter should look fluffy, with no grains of sugar visible.
• Add the flour and baking soda to the butter mixture, beating gently to combine.
• Add the buttermilk/yogurt/sour cream, beating gently until well-blended.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
• Bake the cake for 30 minutes. While it's baking, prepare the topping.
• Mix all of the topping ingredients together just till medium crumbs form. If you mix too long the crumbs will become too large, so pay attention.
• After 30 minutes, remove the cake from the oven. Quickly and gently sprinkle the crumbs on top, and return to the oven.
• Bake for an additional 15 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake form the oven, and cool it completely on a rack.
• When the cake is completely cool, dust it with confectioners' sugar.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE CHIP CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment.
• For the crumb topping: Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Stir in the all-purpose flour just until the mixture is crumbly (some dryer bits may remain--that's OK). Toss the mini chocolate chips with the crumb topping and set aside.
• For the cake: Combine the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup and whisk to break up the eggs. Set aside.
• Combine the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whisk by hand or mix on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
• With the mixer running on low speed, add the cubed butter and mix until all of the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the mixer still running on low speed, add the egg mixture and mix until moistened. Stop and scrape the bowl and paddle, then mix on medium-high speed for 30 seconds.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the mini chocolate chips over the top. Scatter the crumb topping mixture evenly over the cake batter, then scatter the remaining 1 tablespoon of the chips over top.
• Place the baking pan on a rimmed baking sheet to prevent over-browning. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 43 to 46 minutes. An easy way to test crumb cake is to nudge some of the crumbs away with the toothpick then insert the toothpick into the cake below. Let cool in the pan until barely warm before slicing.

CRUMB TOPPING FOR CLASSIC CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon, salt, sugar, and flour; cut in the butter using your hands, two knives, or a pastry blender until well combined and crumbly. (Alternatively, mix together in an electric mixer.)