Martha's Classic Crumb Cake

By Addie

Martha calls this a “foolproof cake – perfect for beginners.” I’d say that she’s right. It was so easy to prepare, and it turned out exactly as I was hoping it would. It was a big hit on Christmas morning with my relatives. I tried to warn them how much butter was in the cake, but no one seemed to care. Everyone went back for seconds anyways! As for my nephew and his ranch, I must say… Martha’s Crumb Cake might be a nice addition to the Ranch’s breakfast offerings! By the way, I hope to visit the ranch this summer, since my son quite enamored with fly fishing and outdoor boy stuff. If the chef adds this crumb cake to his menu, we just might have to seriously consider making a reservation. Yield: One 13x9-inch cake (10 to 12 servings)

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• Butter for greasing the pan
• 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Gold Medal® Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• Additional butter, for greasing the pan
• CRUMB TOPPING:
• 3 cups All Purpose Gold Medal® Flour
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (I used Kosher)
• 1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 13x9-inch baking pan (I used a metal pan- but a pyrex would probably work out okay too).

2. Prepare the cake layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes (scrape sides of bowl during mixing to incorporate all of the ingredients). Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture, then the sour cream. Beat just until combined.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and use a rubber spatula to spread it into an even layer.

5. Prepare the crumb layer: In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, until large, moist clumps form. (I used a food processor to combine the butter and the other ingredients, pulsing until crumbs formed. The crumbs were smaller than large, moist clumps as described by Martha, but they worked perfectly fine in the recipe anyways).

6. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly onto the batter. Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The center of the cake should feel slightly firm to the touch and not soft and soggy. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Slice and eat!