New York City Crumb Cake
Rene Magritte, 1898-1967
Golconde, 1953
Gouache, 15 x 17
Private Collection
Belgian Surrealist Master
While I was in New York a couple of weeks ago I had a deep need to be able to walk into a bakery and just buy something. I wanted something that was regional and I wanted something that was moist and would crumb all over my napkin while I sipped my morning coffee, but this desire just wasn’t realized. Is it too much for a girl to ask for a gluten free crumb cake while in the city? As difficult as it is to get around and the time restraints I had before me, I just couldn’t seem to find a moment to scoot down to Babycakes to see what gluten free items they had in store. Alas, next time.
So during my flight home, I carefully ruminated over my stay, making a careful mental list of the amazing encounters I had with old and new friends –that includes you, Laura and Aimee! The only thing that was left undone was satisfying that lingering wish to eat that elusive bit of cake. So as the plane sailed through the clouds, I began brainstorming. I pulled out my trusty recipe log and scribbled down what I’d been envisioning for the last three days…
A gluten free version of a New York style crumb cake that puts raised eyebrows back into your coffee break. The crumbs on top are delicate, crunchy little orbs of butter, exploding with flashes of molasses and waves of cinnamon that gracefully roll off the top as you bite into a supremely moist, vanilla infused confection. And even though I was back at my studio in Austin, I felt every bit the New Yorker, with a confetti party of crumbs covering my plate.
NEW YORK CITY CRUMB CAKE
For the cake:
½ cup gluten free oat flour
½ cup arrowroot flour
¼ cup glutinous rice flour
1 teaspoon guar gum
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
¼ + 1/8 teapoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons organic vegetable shortening, like Spectrum
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 organic eggs, like Jeremiah’s
2/3 cup organic sour cream
2 teaspoons double strength vanilla extract, like Penzy’s
For the topping:
¾ cup gluten free oat flour
½ cup tapioca flour
¼ cup glutinous rice flour
1 teaspoon guar gum
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick organic butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch glass or porcelain baking dish with vegetable shortening and set aside.
Into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, pour all the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add the vegetable shortening and mix on the lowest setting until you can no longer see any clumps of the shortening, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and sour cream and mix on medium high speed until the batter is thick and smooth. Finish by mixing in the vanilla just until you can no longer see brown ribbons through the batter.
Pour into your prepared baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and carefully top with the topping, being careful to avoid touching the sides of the pan.
Return the pan to the oven, turn the oven off, and allow the cake to sit in the oven for 14 minutes to set the topping.
Cool the cake on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
Slice into squares to serve.
Serves 12
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1886-1969
Honeycomb, Friedrichstrasse Skyscrapper, Berlin. Competition, 1921
Charcoal and pencil on brown paper, mounted on board, 68 1/4 x 48″
The Museum of Modern Art, Mies van der Rohe Archive
German born American Architect
