Alvina’s Crumb Cake

My father did not cook much, but he was proud of the two recipes in his repertoire: a pie crust made with oil, and this coffee cake. I made a few tweaks to his recipe, including using cake flour, which makes a finer crumb. I also added butter and brown sugar to the topping, and reduced the oven temperature (I remember the cake often coming out crispy).

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

4 cups flour, cake if you have it

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter

⅓ cup additional flour

4 heaping teaspoons baking powder

3 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Pulse the sugar, 2 sticks of butter, and flour together. (I used a stand mixer—small lumps are acceptable, even encouraged.) Remove one cup of this mixture for topping and place in another bowl. Into that mixture, using either a pastry cutter or a fork, cut cinnamon, ½ stick of butter, and brown sugar. Set aside.

To the original batter, add baking powder and eggs. Mix well.

Mix in the milk and vanilla—do not overbeat.

Pour the batter into a well-buttered 9 × 13–inch pan and sprinkle the reserved cinnamon crumbs over top. Bake 35 or so minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out dry.

This is also delicious with a handful of fresh blueberries folded in before baking.