Crumb Coffee Cake

This picture is nothing special. In fact it is quite unattractive. We hosted an Easter weekend brunch and I wanted to make a coffee cake. No time for pictures before the brunch and then the work week started and I was on my regular race through it - that left plenty of time to eat this delicious cake but no time to properly photograph it. But in the last ditch effort to capture this amazing coffee cake, I threw the last piece on a plate and took this picture. 

I have a love affair with coffee cakes. They speak to me of a time when there was time. When people sat down for coffee and cake and took a moment to connect with themselves or someone special. I think that in my ideal world there would always be a coffee cake on hand for when a neighbor or friend stops in to chat. 

I adore funnel pans and bundt pans. Big cakes that cut unto hefty wedges of butter, cinnamon, fruit and glaze. Great on their own and even better with a cup of coffee. I have been eying the New York Crumb Cake recipe in the Baked Explorations recipe book. If you don't know about the gentlemen from Baked let me introduce you. "Matt and Renato really, really like dessert. Perhaps, a little too much." With a love a baking and bakeries on the side of their regular day jobs they eventually were able to open Baked in NYC. They still run this bakery as well as continue to write beautiful cookbooks. To say I have a crush would be putting it mildly. They are to me, the Justin Bieber of the baking world and I am a great fan. 

Crumb Coffee cake baking has eluded me until now. I have eaten my fair share and appreciate the ratio of crumb to cake. Far more crumb than cake. This is what makes a NY crumb cake different. My good friend Jessie of CakeSpy and an East Coast native loves some crumb cake. If possible the more crumb the better. She had been on my mind lately and that was part of my decision to tackle this cake. 

An easy recipe to follow as all the Baked recipes are. Be warned - I do know that some of my crumb topping never made it to the cake. It was irresistible. I don't like to talk out loud about how much butter went into it either. 

New York Crumb Cake
recipe from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renalto Poliafito


Crumb Topping
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (and still warm)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.  

To make the crumb topping: Whisk the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl.  Add the melted butter and whisk to combine.  Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour.

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, letting the first incorporate fully before adding the second.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds.  Add the sour cream and vanilla to the mixer and beat until just incorporated.  Finally, add the flour mixture in thirds, beating just until combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.  The batter will be thick, use a spatula to spread it evenly.  Pick up the crumb topping by handfuls, and break off chunks, scattering them over the top of the batter.  Use all of the topping.

Bake for 45-55 minutes (rotating the pan at 15 minute intervals), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Apple Cake Crisp

Fall is magical - the weather gets cooler and a crisp feeling is in the air. You begin to bundle up and walk in the neighborhood to watch green turn to gold to orange and red and then fall from the trees. This is a time of change and wonderment. I love fall. Along with the beautiful nature I love the flavors that accompany fall - squash, apples, pears, sweet potatoes and nuts. These ingredients are at the best and are begging to be roasted, baked and turned into soup and hearty casseroles. 

Apples are what we celebrate here in the PNW come fall. I know just how to turn their tart flesh into a carmelly, spicey masterpeice. I love pie and crisps so I tried something new and ended up with this apple dessert that is not quite a cake, not quite a pie and not quite a crisp. But it is marvelous. 

Apple Cake Crisp

Filling

• 4 pounds Granny Smith Apples - peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar

Place apples, lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and toss to combine. Place mixture into a colander and set over a bowl to catch juices from mixture. Let drain 30 minutes. 

Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 sticks cold butter cut into small pieces

Mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and work into flour with hands or a pastry cutter until the butter is no larger than peas and is incorporated into the flour mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Press 2/3 of the flour mixture into the bottom and half up the sides of a 9 inch spring form pan. Fill the crust with the apple mixture. Scatter the remaining crust mixture over the top of the apples. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes then loosen edge of pan with a knife to remove spring form ring. 

Eat Cake!

Most mornings I fight the urge to eat cake. And by cake I mean any baked pastry from any number of local coffee shops featuring tasty baked goods. Oh I know that this is not the way a grown woman should start her morning. It is so easy to shut down the logical, "I know about proper nutrition" part of my brain that wants me to eat a lean protien source such as eggs or yogurt. And most times I do. But then there are the mornings I need cake. 

I wonder - do thin girls eat cake for breakfast? Probably not. Or if they do they decide to run and burn that cake off. Maybe this is what sets me apart from those people. That I cannot say no to cake and might only run to catch a bus. 

I fancy myself as a bit of a baker. So many times in my brain this cake eating is research. And it kind of is. I like to see what others are baking and be inspired to try baking new things. I also love certain baked goods so much - like the Squash Bread that Macrina Bakery makes and sells though local coffee shops everywhere I go. That thick slab of bread, moist and tender with toasted walnuts. Really if I was musical I would write a song about it. 

This morning found me and Mr. Ramon getting coffee before work. We indulge in this treat a couple of times a week together. "Want to get coffee?" he asks. "Sure - where do you want to go?" We ponder the 4-5 options available near his work on Capitol Hill. This morning we chose Oddfellows. Mr. Ramon is a drip coffee guy and I am currently obsessed with iced coffee or iced americanos.

After much study of the bakery case I decided on French Toast Bundt Cake. This was real cake for breakfast this time. It smelled like butter and maple, all things french toast. It paired really well with my iced americano. It was moist and still warm from the oven. Yum!

summer summer summer

I have been away so long. Summer has arrived and has been keeping me so busy. Here are some quick hi-lights to get us up to date - then I promise to be here more often.

Our local pizza place started serving brunch a few weeks ago - we went - it was not bad. unfortunately they stopped this weekend as they were not getting the traffic they needed. But I thought I would show the pictures anyway and if you are a Pizza lover like I am you need to try All Purpose Pizza here on Jackson St. Everything is made from scratch and their sourdough crust makes me oh so happy!!

A couple of our best friends had their commitment ceremony and I baked all the deserts for their reception. This included some amazing lemon bars. I had never made lemon bars from scratch so this was a fun endeavor. I hand squeezed all the lemons and added plenty of zest. The first batch could have cooked a few minutes more - but was set enough to be cut. Overall they turned out great and were the first thing to go. 

I also made an amazing three layer coconut cake - this was my trial run on an amazing cake I am planning on serving at our wedding reception. I don't have any finished pictures of it - but I had a major issue with the cake itself and had to re-bake the morning of the event. Here are a couple pictures of my disaster - first time anything like this has happened to me. It all turned out great - but I was worried for a moment.

And on that note - I say good day to you all!!

Cardamon Citrus Coffee Cake

Leave it to me to post about coffee cake right after a post about working out! Well I can say I did not have any of this coffee cake - but that it was well received by those who did partake.



I am generally in love with coffee cake - I love all kinds - and baking in a bundt pan gives me an extra thrill. All those cute little ridges and whole in the center - so pretty.

This recipe popped up on google at the Goodlife Eats blog. I love the idea of cardamon but had never used it before. So on my day off Monday I got around to making it. My house smelled amazing - cardamon and citrus - a great combo.

Hope you enjoy it.

Cardamon Citrus Coffee Cake

• 3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• zest of 1/2 large orange
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 a vanilla bean split open and seeded or 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 c sour cream

Filling

• zest of 1/2 large orange
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of a bundt cake pan.

Prepare the filling by combining the brown sugar, cinnamon, 1/2 the orange zest and cardamom; set aside.



In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom; set aside.

In a small food processor, combine the sugars and the orange zest. Pulse several times until the zest is finely chopped and sugar is fragrant. Alternatively, you can place the sugars in a bowl with the zest and rub it with your fingers.

Using an electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla bean and eggs, beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl periodically. Beat 1/4 of the flour mixture and sour cream at a time alternately into sugar mixture on low speed till blended. Spread half of batter into pan. Sprinkle filling mixture on top. Add the remaining batter and carefully spread (it may help to spray a spatula with PAM).

Bake for 40 50 minutes, or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan to wire rack, cool.