New York-Style Crumb Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 23, 2012
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 9
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm⅓ cup granulated sugar (2 ⅔ ounces/75 grams)⅓ cup dark brown sugar (2 ⅔ ounces/75 grams)¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon table salt 1 ¾ cups cake flour (7 ounces/198 grams)Cake
1 ¼ cups cake flour (5 ounces/142 grams)½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon table salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (¾ stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅓ cup buttermilk Confectioners' sugar for dustingBefore You Begin
Don't be tempted to substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, as doing so will make a dry, tough cake. If you can't find buttermilk, you can substitute an equal amount of plain, low-fat yogurt. When topping the cake, take care to not push the crumbs into the batter. This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. If doubling, increase the baking time to about 45 minutes. Cooled leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Make foil sling for pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.
- Whisk melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in bowl until combined. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside and let cool completely, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add buttermilk, egg and yolk, and vanilla, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Using your hands, roll pieces of crumb-topping dough between your thumb and forefinger into large pea-size pieces. Spread pieces, breaking up any large chunks, in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift cake from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. (Leftover cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
for the crumb topping
for the cake
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 9Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Since an authentic New York crumb cake recipe should have rich dough topped with thick chunks of lightly spiced crumb topping, we tweaked our favorite yellow cake batter to use in our crumb cake recipe. For a proper crumb topping, we made large, doughlike crumbs and broke the dough apart into little nuggets that we sprinkled over the batter. The nuggets held together when baked, giving us sturdy crumbs that remained moist and tender on the inside.
Before You Begin
Don't be tempted to substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, as doing so will make a dry, tough cake. If you can't find buttermilk, you can substitute an equal amount of plain, low-fat yogurt. When topping the cake, take care to not push the crumbs into the batter. This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. If doubling, increase the baking time to about 45 minutes. Cooled leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Make foil sling for pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.
- Whisk melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in bowl until combined. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside and let cool completely, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add buttermilk, egg and yolk, and vanilla, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Using your hands, roll pieces of crumb-topping dough between your thumb and forefinger into large pea-size pieces. Spread pieces, breaking up any large chunks, in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift cake from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. (Leftover cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
for the crumb topping
for the cake
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
More Like This
Keep Exploring
0 Comments