Before I start, take a peek at this hunk of Crumb Cake. Yes. You want to wake up to this in the morning. It's okay to stare. He's a cute piece of crumb cake and he knows it. Ahem.Okay, on to the adventures....
For starters... New digs! It's a townhouse that looks like a lil barn. What's not to love about that? I'll be living with two friends which means plenty of cookies and laughter.
Went snowboarding for the first time. My friend Harvey and I reconnected on the slopes. He's pro! Thank you Harvs for the infinite patience and Janice for the gear. I tumbled down the mountain. Again. And again. Honestly, it was not that bad until we got the stupid idea to try a steep hill. That's when I ate it. Hard. I'll stick to bgirlin'.Traveled to NYC for Juste Debout hosted in Brooklyn. Juste Debout is a French dance competition that they brought over to NY. It was no bboy jam! I'm going to have an entire separate entry for that fiasco of awesomeness. Special thanks to my cousin for letting us crash at his spot.
Cherry to my sundae: Mr. Navix returns from Korea after teaching English for a year. He is the source of the going away cupcake Navix 1.0. I'm stupid happy to have him back on U.S. soil. Man radiates encouragement and inspiration. Welcome back! Chillin' on Cloud 9.The final development... well. I'll keep that a secret till the next post.
Down to business. Amazing Crumb Cake. Crumb cake that makes you do a double take because you think you're in a bakery, not your kitchen. It's really easy to make, smells delicious in the oven, and contains very basic ingredients. I added a smidge more cinnamon because I love cinnamon. This is the real deal: the perfect cake coated in a layer of rolled up brown sugary goodness.Note: Do not use all-purpose flour for the cake. It will come out too rubbery. Stick with the cake flour.
The Amazing Crumb Cake
by America's Test Kitchen
Crumb Topping
1/3 cup granulated sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour (7 ounces)
Cake
1 1/4 cups cake flour (5 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3cup buttermilk
Confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)
For the topping... whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
For the cake... adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.
Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. It doesn't have to be perfect
Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
