New York Style Crumb Cake

Does anyone else miss Google Reader as much as I do? I signed up for Feedly a few weeks ago, but kept using Google Reader up until the last minute. Anyways, Feedly has been down all day and I am still not caught up on the day's blog posts. Hopefully all of the kinks get worked out soon. Catching up on other blogs while I eat breakfast is one of my very favorite parts of the day. 

Anyways, this past weekend I made this new york style crumb cake for Dan who loves all breakfast foods made with brown sugar or cinnamon. Cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, crumb cake- you name it and he loves it all. I love this particular recipe because of the thick layer of crumb topping. The crumb topping is almost as thick as the cake itself. If you ask me, the more crumb topping, the better!

New York Style Crumb Cake
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour

Cake:
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened but cool
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salted and melted butter. Add the cake flour. Mix with a spatula until combined. Allow the mixture to cool completely, about 10-15 minutes.

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on each side so that you can lift the crumb cake out after baking. Spray the aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a stand mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Beat on low speed to combine. With the mixer still on low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time. Mix until the mixture is crumbly, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk. Increase the speed to medium-high. Mix until light and fluffy or about 1-2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the cake batter. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown in color. An inserted toothpick should come out ocean. Allow the crumb cake to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes or a cooling rack. Cut into squares and serve.