Gluten-Free Crumb Cake

If you've read this blog, you may notice that I love coffee--probably because I mention it in just about every single post.  So, a big part of my baking adventure is to try to make as many things that I can consume with coffee as humanly possible.  A friend of mine recently mentioned that she loves crumb cake in the morning with her coffee, and it dawned on me that I hadn't had or seen any since I went gluten-free!

If you're not from the Northeastern United States, you may not be familiar with this delicious breakfast treat.  I only recently discovered that it's a regional dish (some recipes refer to it as "New York style").  It's a rich, velvety coffee cake topped with a cinnamon-sugar streusel crumb; and it truly does go perfectly with coffee.  If you're not into cake for breakfast... first of all, why not? But also, it makes a great dessert.  With coffee.  Did I mention coffee?

As I discovered on my first attempt at creating the recipe, this amount of batter really needs a large pan.  If you try to use a smaller pan and bake it for longer, it will burn on the top and sink in the middle.  So the pan size is crucial.  The recipe is pretty straight-forward but, as always, I've tried to include very specific instructions.  If you have any questions or suggestions, drop me a comment!  

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 4 oz. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/8 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (with xanthan gum)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the crumb topping:

• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 oz. (1 stick) melted butter
• Approximately 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (for dusting)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9"x13" baking pan (preferably glass) with parchment paper (grease the pan first to help the paper stay in place).  
2. Make the cake batter : start by creaming together butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla extract and sour cream and beat until smooth.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, mixing after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary to make sure the mixture is fully incorporated.
7. Pour the batter into the baking pan and smooth into an even layer with a spatula.
8. Make the crumb topping: in a bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon.  
9. Pour the melted butter over the flour/sugar mix and stir with a fork until it clumps together.  It should look like wet sand.
10. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter layer in the pan, clumping it together with your hands to create crumbs as you do.  
11. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few small crumbs clinging to it.
12. Cool for at least half an hour in the pan, and then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out.  
13. Use a sieve to dust the top with a generous layer of powdered sugar.  Cut into squares with a sharp knife and serve (with coffee of course!).