Crumb Cake (Reduced Sugar)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on April 16, 2020
Time
55 minutes, plus 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 9
Sugar
12 grams (down from 29)
Ingredients
Topping
½ cup (2⅔ ounces/76 grams) Sucanat 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon salt 1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flourCake
⅓ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) Sucanat 1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg 6 tablespoons buttermilk 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled1 large egg plus 1 large yolk1 tablespoon vanilla extractBefore You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. Do not skip grinding the Sucanat in steps 1 and 2 or the topping will have a dusty texture and the cake will have a spotty, pockmarked appearance.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Working in 2 batches, grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Whisk ground Sucanat, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Stir in flour with rubber spatula until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside.
- grease 8-inch square baking pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Whisk ground Sucanat, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, melted butter, egg and yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Break topping into large pea-size pieces and sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake until crumbs are golden and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Gently flip cake onto large plate, remove parchment, then gently flip again, right side up, onto platter. Serve.
for the topping
for the cake
Time
55 minutes, plus 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 9Sugar
12 grams (down from 29)Ingredients
Topping
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Topping
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Topping
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
On the plus side, Sucanat gave the crumbs a lovely, balanced butterscotch flavor that tasters liked, so we focused most of our effort on improving the texture. Our original recipe called for cake flour, whose low protein content had ensured that the crumb topping stayed tender by not developing too much gluten structure. But we found that switching back to all-purpose flour provided the extra structure the crumbs needed. With a bit of melted butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg, we had a perfect dough-like crumb that easily broke apart into flavorful, sturdy nuggets. With our topping settled, we turned our attention to the cake itself, which was turning out dense and mushy. We hoped that this would be a simple fix: Since we were already using all-purpose flour in the topping, would all-purpose flour work in the cake too? A bit of testing revealed that the answer was yes. The cake made with all-purpose flour was less dense and was sturdy enough to support the crumb topping. As a final touch, we added cinnamon and nutmeg to the cake to complement the flavors in the topping.
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. Do not skip grinding the Sucanat in steps 1 and 2 or the topping will have a dusty texture and the cake will have a spotty, pockmarked appearance.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Working in 2 batches, grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Whisk ground Sucanat, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Stir in flour with rubber spatula until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside.
- grease 8-inch square baking pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Whisk ground Sucanat, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, melted butter, egg and yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Break topping into large pea-size pieces and sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake until crumbs are golden and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Gently flip cake onto large plate, remove parchment, then gently flip again, right side up, onto platter. Serve.
for the topping
for the cake
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