Men Love Crumb Cake



Thought for the day:

Why does a "fat chance" and a "slim chance" mean the same thing, but a "wiseguy" and a "wise man" mean something completely different?

See, you thought this blog was only about food.

What man doesn't love a crumb cake on a Sunday morning?
It has never been my personal favorite, but it is my father's, brother's and husband's. Must be a guy thing.

Growing up, Sunday morning tradition was my dad going to the bakery and bringing home jelly donuts, almond horns and crumb cake for us kids while my mother slept.
Shhhhhh.

Not much has changed. Now that I am an adult, Sunday a.m. tradition is my husband going to the bakery and buying jelly donuts and crumb cake on Sunday mornings while I sleep.

Hmmm, they usually say you marry your mother or father. That's another subject.

This weekend I decided to bake my own crumb cake. I used Smitten Kitchen's Big Crumb Cake recipe (sans the fruit) and it came out DELICIOUS!!!!!

The smell in the house while baking this cake was intoxicating.

Make this cake for father's day and watch the guys go nuts!



Crumb Cake (adapted from Smitten Kitchen):

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted
1 3/4 cups flour

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces

To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted butter until smooth. Then, add flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and set aside.

To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula.

I used a greased 10" springform round pan, because I have success with baking cakes in this type of pan, but feel free to use a traditional rectangle cake pan.

Spread the batter into the greased cake pan and using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size.

Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake at 325F until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely before serving.



Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

and to all of my readers who are dads, have a happy Father's Day!

Comments

You have a really good husband to go to the bakery while you sleep. With this lovely crumb cake maybe he can sleep in this time. Hope Henry has a wonderful Father's day weekend.
Sam
Karinvd said…
The cake looks delicioua. I actually like crumb cakes too. Hmm, does that make me masculine? ;-)
mil said…
Dil,

Crumb buns were always my favorite. As a young 'un I used to pick the crumbs off the top - the best part.
Your cake is making my mouth water.
Mil
Foodiewife said…
Crumb cake is a girl thing, too. I love it. I'm afraid to make it, for fear that I'd eat the whole thing. Beautiful job, Stace.
Claudia said…
Growing up, Sunday was church, NY Times and crumb cake (at Aunt Roses's). I still yearn for crumb cake. And now - I yearn no more. It's at my fingertips. But if I gain weight, I'll find you...
Ginny Lee said…
my grandmother used to buy us Entemanns crumb cake--the cake part was pretty dry but the crumbs were to die for! I am sure your cake is worth eating along with the crumbs :) It is going on my "to bake" list
Joanne said…
My dad also adores crumb cake. Possibly more than he adores me. I'll have to make this for him!
Jen_from_NJ said…
I will take your advice and make this for my dad. He's a crumb cake fan too! Happy Sunday!
Janice said…
OMG STacey I actually made TWO crumb cakes this week--one from Amateur Gourmet and the other Dorie Greenspan's Blueberry Crumb. I guess I"ll have to try Deb's for the trifecta!
The JR said…
I like crumb cake. Looks good and I'm glad you made them something they like.
Susie said…
Thanks - your post reminded me of going out with my dad on Sunday morning for jelly donuts and the Sunday paper for the comics. I'm going to try this recipe for my boys next weekend.
Oui, Chef said…
As a man, I will happily concur with your hypothesesis that all men like crumb cake. In fact, I made one of Ina Garten's pre-packaged mix cakes last weekend and ate almost the whole thing myself....such a pig. I must say that this one looks even better. Brava! - S
Dana said…
Um. My husband did not get the memo about letting me sleep late. Nor did he get the memo about bringing home baked goods. Although if I want something this good, I would have to make it myself. Super yum!
Ciao Chow Linda said…
Your Henry is a sweetheart. But how do you two stay so trim? Crumb cake was always a big favorite of Rich's.
I'll have to give this one a try.