Baked Sunday Mornings: New York-Style Crumb Cake

As much as I love Baked Explorations, a lot of the recipes in this book are fairly labor intensive, so I'm always happy to try an easy recipe like the "New York-Style Crumb Cake" every now and then.  Before I read this recipe, if you had asked me what the difference is between crumb cake and coffee cake, I wouldn't have had any idea.  Now I know that crumb cake is supposed to be distinguished by: 1) an obscenely large ratio of topping to cake; 2) a topping devoid of nuts; and 3) a cake that is swirl free.  

The crumb topping for this cake is made from dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, warm melted butter, and all-purpose flour.  The resulting mixture resembles wet dough; the recipe notes that it's important to allow the topping to rest and dry out a little (even suggesting that you spread the topping mixture out on a baking sheet to help it dry faster) in order to create large crumb chunks.

The cake portion is made from creamed butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  After spreading the cake batter into the pan, the recipe instructs you to pick up a handful of the topping, squeeze it together in your fist, and break off chunks.  I don't think I let my topping rest long enough and I regret not taking the time to spread it out on a sheet to dry out a bit, because my topping was still a little wet at this stage and didn't easily form round crumbs.  Also, although the recipe warns, "Remember, the topping layer will look outrageously thick," it didn't seem like an outrageous amount of topping to me. I could still see bare spots of cake batter through the crumbs after I sprinkled on all of the topping.

During baking, my crumbs grew together to produce what was pretty much a continuous layer of topping.  Nonetheless, the topping was delicious.  It was crunchy and a little on the sweet side, although the cake wasn't very sweet, so the cake and topping went well together.  I tasted the cake separately, and while it was moist, it wasn't particularly flavorful or remarkable on its own.  However, I think the purpose of the cake is merely to serve as a conveyance for the crumbs, and thus, who really cares? 

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this cake, given that it was somewhat plain in comparison to the types of coffee cakes I tend to favor, which usually include things like blueberries, chocolate chips, nut toppings, and/or swirls (of cinnamon, chocolate, nuts, or any combination of them).  But what's not to like about an exorbitant amount of sweet, buttery, cinnamon topping paired with a moist cake?  Plain or not, the cake is an indulgent treat. 

See what the other members of Baked Sunday Mornings had to say about this cake, here.

Recipe: "New York-Style Crumb Cake" from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

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Comments

mike509 said…
I obviously DON'T read.... I put mine in the fridge and the topping melted. Hm... Yours looks wonderful! Much better than mine - it's a keeper for sure!
Sheri said…
I didn't put my topping out onto a baking sheet, but it glommed into a giant hard-ish ball of topping so I just broke pieces off. Yours looks great. And I love this cake.
Christina said…
Your slices are so perfect! I love how tall your cake is, too. Nice job!
Elaine said…
I wish I had dried mine out on a tray because it was probably too wet. Your crumbs spread beautifully! Mine didn't spread at all (too large!) :), but it still is a very tasty cake. I agree - It was nice having a recipe that didn't have so many steps this week. Have a wonderful Easter!
Candy said…
Great photos! I went for a tad bit smaller crumb then called for.
Bourbonnatrix said…
I love your cake! It almost looks like 3 components and the middle one looks yummy! Maybe crumbs that aren't so crunchy?
Rebecca said…
I enjoyed this cake too and I agree that it was nice to do something easier for a change!
Anonymous said…
Too little flour perhaps? I used 325g in mine. Your cake still look great though and I'm sure it's delicious.
Jaime said…
I agree with you about the complexity of some of the recipes from this book (although I haven't tasted a bad one yet). It was nice to have an easy one, especially on a busy holiday weekend. I just loved this cake and yours looks fantastically delicious!
Kris' Kitchen said…
I agree that this cake is quite plain...next time I want to add something...like blue or black berries or a swirl of something and I think I will like it even better...but it was good with ice cream.
Roadtrek Girl said…
For you thinking your cake didn't turn out quite right I think it looks quite fantastic !
Anonymous said…
I love your blog! I only wish I could get ALL the recipes you use.

Some suggestions: if you use softened buttter instead of melting in making the crumbs, it make alleviate the need to dry out/make crumbs. As it mixes in your mixer, there is a point where is blended and crumbly. If you continue, it makes one giant crumb, but if you stop then, you can get medium-sized crumbs.

Also, for an alternative, you can smear jelly/jam on the cake before you put the crumbs and cook for the rest of the time. This is always a big hit for me.
Anonymous said…
Yum! Crumb topping is the best part of cake...this def looks like a winning style cake!