It was in the summer of 2005 that my taste buds would come to learn a lot of new and interesting flavors in the world of coffee and desserts. It was then that I had picked up a part time job at Starbucks as a Barista. Growing up my parents indulged in espresso and I had tried it but had no real interest in it. As far as desserts were concerned I was limited on my repertoire there as well having only tried boxed cakes and ice cream…that is until crumb cake came into my life.
Craving
Cue today, 11 years later, a very 38 week pregnant me wanting to relive this wondrous moment. I went to a local Starbucks, I should confess several in the last few weeks, and all of the crumb cakes are the same…sad, soft, no crunch, no love as if the whole recipe has changed. I came across this recipe from Cooking Classy and per the reviews and comments decided to slightly adapt it to ensure the crunch via the crunch sugar/flour mix for the topping. Enjoy!
Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Crumbs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, cold & cut into small pieces
Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Prepare
1. First, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. You can choose to use Baker’s Joy baking spray like I do.
For the crumbs:
2. In a mixing bowl whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pour in melted butter (use a spatula to scrape out any excess) and stir to combine.
3. Next, slowly add flour while mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula, and mix until no streaks of flour remain. Set aside to rest while cake batter is prepared.
For the cake:
4. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 20 seconds, set aside.
5. Now, in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.
6. Mix in egg and vanilla. In liquid measuring cup used to measure milk, whisk together sour cream with milk.
7. Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend just until combined, then add 1/2 of the milk mixture and mix just until combined. Repeat process once more, then end by mixing in last 1/3 of the flour mixture until nearly combined. Scape down sides and bottom of bowl using a rubber spatula and fold batter to fully incorporate.
8. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
9. Then break crumb mixture into pea size crumbs and drop evenly over batter. I used a potato masher to accomplish this.
10. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out free of batter and cake doesn’t sink when touched in center, about 32 – 35 minutes.
11. Last but not least, in cake pan 10 minutes then enjoy this most delicious cake with a glass of milk or coffee for breakfast or for dessert! I’d even go as far as recommending a small dose all day. Haha!
