Baking
New York-Style Crumb Cake
A tender vanilla cake buried under a thick layer of cinnamon-brown sugar crumb topping — the crumb-to-cake ratio is the whole point.
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
45 min
Servings
9
Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients
- 1½ cups flour (for crumb)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (for crumb)
- ½ cup sugar (for crumb)
- 1 tsp cinnamon (for crumb)
- ¼ tsp salt (for crumb)
- ¾ cup melted butter (for crumb)
- 1¾ cups flour (for cake)
- ¾ cup sugar (for cake)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt (for cake)
- ½ cup melted butter (for cake)
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup milk
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9x9-inch pan.
- 2
For the crumb, mix the dry ingredients, then stir in the melted butter until large clumps form; set aside.
- 3
For the cake, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- 4
Add the melted butter, egg, yolk, vanilla, and milk, and mix until a smooth batter forms.
- 5
Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly.
- 6
Break the crumb topping into pea-to-marble sized pieces and cover the batter thickly.
- 7
Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the crumbs are golden.
- 8
Cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar before slicing.
Watch How to Make It
Tips
- Don't overmix the crumb — you want big chunky crumbs, not sand.
- Underbaking slightly keeps the cake extra moist under all that topping.
