Crumb cake, coffee cake; what’s the difference? The crumbs. A thicker layer of crumbs is a crumb cake. So what’s a New York style crumb cake? It has even bigger crumbs.
There’s a bagel shop in our town that sells crumb cake. It’s one of the best crumb cakes I’ve ever had. A thick layer of crumb sits on top of a moist sponge. It’s just perfect. I’ve been trying to find a recipe to make something similar. The cake is either too dry, the crumbs are too crumbly, or the top is too dry. I’ve finally found the right combination to make a perfect crumb top.
Making a New York Style Crumb Cake
I made this twice. The first time I forgot baking soda in the cake (my error) and the crumb topping was extremely dry (the recipe’s fault). I realized the recipe was inspired by another, so I went to the source. The blogger’s recipe had the crumb topping all wrong. It was terrible.
Following the original recipe, I made my own alternations to the crumb top, and it came out wonderfully. I made my own adjustments because the comments on the original recipe were calling out the crumb topping was slightly dry. I cut down on the flour and increased the butter.
New York Style Crumb Cake
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Loading...Adapted from a recipe by America's Test Kitchen.
Ingredients
- Crumb Topping
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and still warm
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- Cake
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 6 pieces, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease 8-inch baking pan with thin layer of oil. 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.
Crumb Topping
Whisk melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Add flour and stir until mixture comes together like a dough. Set aside and cool completely (10 to 15 minutes).
Cake
In a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed.
Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until the mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add buttermilk, egg, yolk, and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy (1 minute). Scrape the bowl as needed.
Transfer batter to prepared pan. Using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer.
With your hands, roll pieces of crumb-topping dough between your thumb and forefinger into large pea-size or larger pieces. Remember this is a New York crumb, drop in those thick globs.
Starting on the edges and making your way to the center, spread pieces in even layer over batter.
Bake until crumbs are golden and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (35 to 40 minutes). Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift cake from pan to a plate.
Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
Notes
Original recipe called for 8 tablespoons of butter and 1 3/4 cups of cake flour in the crumb topping. Leftover cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
