Crummy Coffee Cake

"Can I come in?"

Is this NOT the cutest most un-innocent puppy face you've ever seen?! Meet our Australian Shepherd, Pax. That was her when she was a pup.

Then she grew up...

She is a year old and spunky as all get out.

We recently acquired our other puppy, a purebred Husky, Ash.

Now you know. The Pax and Ash is named after my two wonderful puppies. I love these little monsters even if they do chew up everything!

Now! Onto the Crummy Coffee Cake!

I enjoy coffee cake! The light texture, the crumbly topping, and the dippability in warm drinks. YUM. (Yes. Dippability is a word. I say so!) I haven't made a coffee cake that I can remember and I was caked out. I've been making so many cakes lately I needed a small diversion and coffee cake seemed to do the trick. As I type this, I smell the nutmeg and cinnamon blending together in my warm kitchen! The yeasty bread dough smell breaks through every now and again, but the strong scent of cinnamon lingers. I only have another five minutes before it's done baking! Whoopeee!

Crummy Coffee Cake

adapted from epicurious.com

1 pkg yeast

1 C warm whole milk (105-115F)

1/2 C plus 1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (lime works great too!)

3 3/4 C plus 2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs at room temp. for 30 minutes

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 sticks (3/4C) butter cut into small chunks and kinda soft

Bear with me--- the instructions are a bit flappy.

Mix the yeast, 1/4 C of the milk, and the 1 tbsp of sugar together. I recommend whisking it real quick to incorporate the ingredients. Let bubble up.

Mix the other 3/4 C milk with the fresh lemon juice. It will curdle. GOOD. Let it. You'll use it all later.

Pour the yeast mixture into your mixer. Slowly add the flour (save the 2 tbsp), the rest of the sugar, the salt, and vanilla. Add in the eggs as well. I found that the dough was very dry at this point, so I slowly bounced between adding the flour and the milk at this point. Scrape the sides of the bowl and don't let the dough rise up on your beaters! Add in the butter bit by bit. This will help the dough to calm down and smooth out.

Once it's done mixing and seems incorporated, take the beaters out and sprinkle the 2 tbsp of flour over the top (aren't you glad you saved that 2 tbsp back like I told you?!) Let it rise...rise....RISE until doubled! It should take about an hour or two.

Once it has risen, gently pat it down to release some of the air.

Lightly grease your pan/pans. As you can see, I used three loaf pans. I figured it'd be better to make small loaves so I can give them away easier! Generosity wins again. Pour the batter in the pan, and gently pat it down to the bottom in an even layer. I switched my pans in the picture, but the pouring/patting goes from right to left...

mn... dough...

Here comes the fun part.

Sweet and Crummy Topping

1 1/2 C flour

3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 C) butter, not hard, but not gooey soft. It needs to be hard enough to make big crumbs.

(you can add nutmeg/allspice/ginger if you like!)

Mix together in a food processor (or if you're poor-- I mean, FRUGAL like me and own only a hand mixer, use that.) Mix until big crumbs form. You want a good variety of sizes! Chill in the fridge until ready to use.

At this point in the game...use it! Crumble it over the top of your dough. Be generous!

(The recipe doesn't specify white or brown sugar. I used white sugar for the crumbles and later on used brown sugar to fill in the gaps. )

Never skimp on crummy goodness.

At this point, set the pan(s) in a warm place to rise...rise...RISE again! (an hour?)

After it has risen, preheat oven to 350F. Slap some brown sugar on top of the crumbles to fill in the gaps and add a bit of sugary pizazz.

Bake.

My three loaf pans took about 35-40 minutes. I draped foil over the top of all three towards the end of baking when I noticed the top was getting a bit crispy but the dough wasn't done (didn't spring back when touched). My glass pan on the right was a bit more shallow than the other pans *insert valley girl accent here* and it kinda spilled over. I put a pan in the oven when I noticed it might spill over. It did...glad I put it under the pan!

Holy cow! Enjoy! Your home will be filled with the intertwined scents of cinnamon and yeasty bread. How wonderful! How glorious!

Let cool a bit (or not, and burn your tongue!) and ENJOY.

I cut a sliver to give to my husband and asked for his opinion. He thought it was good. Light in texture and not too sweet. I'd totally make this recipe again, but I think I'd add some spices to the dough as well. I'd also make more crumb topping.

One can never have a crummy enough coffee cake.