Classic Coffee Crumbly Cake

Happy Friday, Everyone!

The weather has been cold but in a more manageable way as I am sitting in my patio enjoying my late afternoon tea with a piece of coffee cake, which I baked this early morning. It has a taste of that nostalgic youth.

Friday was (and still is) my favorite day of the week, back in Junior High. Because it was coffee cake day for lunch. It was then where I had my very first coffee cake, ever. My two best friends (and still are) and I would sit in a corner of the quad (where kids would scatter around in groups of 3 – 4) outside of the cafeteria savoring our coffee cakes while chatting about our weekend plans, which we normally would go to each others house to do homework, play, and watch Sailor Moon and Pokemon.

Unlike other cake that I had, it was crumbly on the top. I would pick off and eat the top first. If you ask me what it tasted like, I could not quite pinpoint it, (partly due to my undeveloped taste bud back then) but sure enough to say it was the best coffee cake I have ever eaten, in a sense, that first love is always the sweetest.

I used to wonder why coffee cake is called “coffee cake” when it does not contain any coffee. So I learned, it’s just simply a cake intended to be eaten alongside coffee, as part of a breakfast meal, during a coffee break, or around a coffee table. But I like to enjoy mine with milk tea, like the British, in a high tea fashion style. A bit of tea, a bit of milk, and a bit of crumbly cake.

It’s crumbly. Very. Be extra caution when you eat it. It might get all over your face and clothes and floor.

When I come to think of coffee cake, it’s more than just a cake. It’s a taste of youth, best friends, and nostalgic memory.

What food reminds you of your youth?

Serving: one 13″x9″ baking pan
Ingredients:
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)

Crumb Topping
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
3 1/2 sticks (1 3/4 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature

Preparation:

Crumb Topping
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, until large moist brown clumps form. Alternatively, a food processor could be used for the mixing. Topping could be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Coffee Cake
Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously butter a 13×9 inch baking pan; set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt  in a bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, on speed 6 for about 4 minutes. Scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Mix in the vanilla with a spatula. Add the flour mixture and sour cream. Beat just until combined.

Spoon the batter into the pan, and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar, if prefer.