No, I’m not referring to a 40 ounce…I am referring to a Crumb Cake. I hope that isn’t too much of a let down that a 40 ounce of Olde E was not incorporated into any of my baked goods. Maybe one day, but not today.

But this is not just any crumb cake…it’s a very special birthday crumb cake for my home girl Jen. Here’s the story…Jen L-O-V-E-S crumb cake. Well, more accurately, Jen has an obsession with the crumb topping on crumb cake. She has struck up many extensive conversations with me analyzing the perfect crumb to cake ratio. Her ideal crumb cake, she tells me, would be a 75% crumb to 25% cake ratio. Out in Fire Island, we have been known to frequent Rachel’s, a bakery that is known primarily for its crumb cake. Rachel’s crumb cake is to-die-for amazing. And you can always tell that Jen had been hanging around when you spot pieces of cake, sans crumb, laying around on tabletops in Fire Island. Jen just picks off the crumb topping and leaves the rest behind.

Well Jen, if you want it, you got it (just bust-a move!)…the crumbiest crumb cake in all the land. (Right now is looking like the perfect time to break out that 40, btw.) I wanted this cake to have more crumbs than anyone, even Jen, had ever dreamed of. I’m talking mountains of crumbs. A crumb-tastic, crumb-alicious, crumby crumb crumb fest.

In order to achieve my crumby crumb cake, I turned to Cook’s Illustrated. They have a recipe for New York Style Crumb Cake that looked just perfect. Well, almost perfect. I doubled the crumb in that bad boy of a recipe in order to crank up the crumb to cake ratio. Perfect!

Double Your Pleasure Double Your Crumb Cake
adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Crumb Topping:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups AP flour
3 sticks unsalted butter, melted & still warm

Cake:
2 ½ cup cake flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, softened
2 large egg + 2 large yolk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk


1. FOR THE TOPPING: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and flour in medium bowl to combine. Add melted butter slowly & stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles a thick, crumbly dough; set aside.

2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position & heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

3. In a medium/large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed of hand mixer 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 - 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about one minute, scraping if necessary.

4. Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces & spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges then working towards center (so center doesn’t get too heavy). Bake 55-60 minutes, until crumbs are golden & wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.