Old Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake

16 Servings
86% would make this recipe for Old Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake again.

My favorite downright irresistible coffeecake...adapted from a recipe found in, "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion." This is the only recipe I've tried, over all the years, where the crumbs actually turn out big--huge, just like what you would get in the bakery. This recipe makes for a very sweet, crumbly cake that is incredibly moist and has a slight tang due to the sour cream. The big and plentiful crumb is very tasty having just a hint of almond flavor. The proportion of crumb to batter is gloriously indulgent. To highlight those crumbs, dust the top with a little confectioners' sugar after baking. I usually make this cake at night for breakfast the next day. I believe it benefits from having ample time to cool and sit. So, it is the perfect sweet breakfast treat to make in advance.

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Old Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake Ingredients

-- Crumb --	1 cup sugar (7 ounces)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 1/2 ounces)	2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar (8 3/4 ounces)	1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt	1 cup sour cream (8 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon	2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 1/2 ounces)
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces), melted and cooled slightly	1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract	1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon almond extract	1 teaspoon baking powder
-- Cake --	Confectioners' sugar, for garnish
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, 4 ounces), softened

Instructions for Old Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, or a 9-by-13-inch pan, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan; dust pan(s) with flour, knocking out excess. Set aside.

Make the Crumb: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, wisk together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually drizzle the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while continuously and gently tossing with a fork. Continue to toss until all the butter is absorbed and you have a uniformly moistened crumb mixture. If texture of crumb is too small, gently squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size from that of a pea to that of a grape, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch in size. (Adding the butter too fast and/or over-mixing can result in the crumb mixture coming together as a solid dough. If that happens, simply use your fingers to break-up the solid crumb mixture into big crumbs, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch in size. Crumbs don't have to be uniform, just try to get most about this size.) Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the Batter: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat on low or stir with a large spoon until evenly combined.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers, covering the batter evenly and completely. Bake 8-inch rounds for 20-25 minutes, or a 9-by-13-inch pan for 30-35 minutes, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan for 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when a wooden pick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are golden and slightly pulling away from the edge of the pan. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its pan(s) set on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, crumb side up, onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Makes 16 (2-inch) wedges, 24 (2-inch) squares or 16 (1 1/2-inch) slices.

Main Ingredient: CakeCuisine: American

Ingredient Insight - look inside this recipe

Bake Advance Flour Baking Powdr Baking Soda Sour Cream Eggs Vanilla Butter Cinnamon Sugar Coffeecake Cake Desserts Brunch Breakfast American

for flavor and categorization

This wonderful coffee cake is very rich, so be prepared for that. But it is also moist and tender. And has a masterful blend of flavors! The texture is medium crumbed and fairly dense. Not nearly as dense as a pound cake, but not light and fluffy. As a variation, I added some slivered almonds for the last few minutes of bake time. The resulting toasted almonds were the perfect embellishment for the subtle almond flavor of the crumb topping.

sgrishka
on Apr 10 2008 3:52PM

Total Time: 0:55
Active time: 0:20

[I made edits to this recipe.]

sgrishka
on Apr 10 2008 3:37PM

[I made edits to this recipe.]

sgrishka
on Apr 9 2008 11:31PM

[I made edits to this recipe.]

sgrishka
on Apr 9 2008 9:31PM

I have never experienced the problems that previous reviewers have had with the crumb topping or this recipe. Never the less, I will try to expand on the instructions and the crumb process. First of all, the dessert recipes in "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion" do use a lot of butter and can be a little heavy and rich, but they are delicious and have always turned out great for me. In this recipe, use melted butter when preparing the crumb topping. I slowly drizzle the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while gently and continuously tossing with a fork to form the "uniformly moistened crumb mixture." Adding the butter too fast and/or over-mixing can result in the crumb mixture coming together as a solid dough -- but that's OK. Simply use your fingers to break-up the solid topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch in size. Crumbs don't have to be uniform, just try to make most about this size. They may not cook-up as light as the fork tossed crumbs, but they are, every bit as tasty... Use softened butter when preparing the cake batter, and be sure to use 8-1/2 ounces of flour. For consistent results, weigh the flour; amounts of flour can vary greatly when measured by volume, e.g., cups. You should end up with a fairly thick (more spoonable than pourable) batter that is more than capable of supporting the crumb topping. I hope this helps. I will edit the recipe to help clear up any confusion.

sgrishka
on Apr 9 2008 5:08PM

The coffeecake tasted good, but the crumb topping sank to the botton, I was very disapointed. I have tried many recipes for crumb toppings and never have good results. I was so excited and was expecting a great crumb cake. I would like to know what went wrong. It seemed have to much butter was more paste. Thanks. Fran

Fran1
on Apr 8 2008 7:12PM

Total Time: 0:00
Active time: 1:00

I love a good coffee cake but I'm sad to say this was not it. I even verified that I'd written down the right measurements because when this cake came out of the oven, the 'cake' had oozed up and over the very heavy 'crumb' so that you could not see it. Moreover, when I made the crumb, it appeared like play dough and was just as heavy. I would never make this again.

lrs52200
on Mar 14 2008 10:57AM

This is the best coffeecake ever. I have made it twice, although the first time was more moist. I'm not sure what I did differently, but it still was excellent both times. I added 1 tsp. of almond extract to the batter and that was the only change. Everyone who tasted this cake loved it. If you heat it up a few days later in the microwave, it tastes like it was just made. Bake this for sure!!

garnet
on Mar 4 2008 6:43PM

Total Time: 1:30
Active time: 0:00

This was one of the best coffee cakes I have had in a long time. The almond flavor of the "cake" had just enough flavor but not overpowering. The crumb topping had nice and large crumbs and we all fought over who got the ones left in the bottom of the pan. I will definetly make this again.

AnnetteKitchen
on Feb 5 2008 8:24AM

The secret to the incredible crumb of this coffeecake is a simple technique; melting the butter prior to combining it with the sugar and flour...it makes all the difference. [I posted this recipe.]

sgrishka
on May 7 2007 3:38PM

Total Time: 0:50
Active time: 0:20