Crumb Cake

                                       from VeganYumYum


N/A didn't put Bac-os on this. So: TWO THUMBS UP!!

Ha.

But even though N/A and I were on the same page about the Bac-os for once, I *DO* think this recipe needed something more.

Does that mean this recipe is a bad one?

Heck no.

The problem is that I can't really be too objective when:

1. I like chocolate.


2. This did not have chocolate.


3. I like cakes with tons of frosting.


4. This cake had no frosting.


5. Though I love vanilla in things, I do not like things whose core flavor is "vanilla."


6. I associate anything that's "Vanilla" in title to be "absent of flavor." Vanilla ice cream? Ice cream that has not yet been flavored.


7. This is essentially a "vanilla cake."


8. Somehow, despite the fact that the crumb topping is an all-out fucktastic sugar-fest, it wasn't sugary enough for me.


9. Or crumb-cake-y-topping-ish enough for me.


10. Or something.


11. It mostly just tasted a little bit floury.


12. Then again I did not use molasses. I followed the original (asterisked) directions.


13. E = MC[2]


14. My crumbs were not as moist.


15. They were also not as pretty and sexy and caramel-esque-looking as Lo Lo's.


16. Which reminds me: Sidenote--yesterday I ate this apple THAT TOTALLY SMELLED LIKE A CARAMEL APPLE but wasn't caramel at all. I kept sniffing it. And thinking: damn you smell like a caramel apple. And then I'd eat it and imagine it as a caramel apple, and it almost DID taste like one. But it wasn't!!!!


17. This cake is easy.


18. Not easy like a Phi Delta Kappa sorority girl, but like: simple.


19. That was nice.


20. It's also pretty.


21. And vanilla-y.


22. Your mom is simple.


23. And vanilla-y.


24. Touche.

So yes: this probably is a really good cake recipe. But it just may not be my kind of cake.

INGREDIENTS:

Crumb Topping

• 8 T. (1/2 c.) Earth Balance Margarine, melted


• 2/3 c. granulated sugar*


• 1 t. molasses


• 3/4 t. cinnamon


• 1 pinch salt


• 1-3/4 c. flour (cake flour or all-purpose)


*The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar. I was out of brown sugar, so I used only granulated sugar with added molasses. Afterall, that's how brown sugar is made commercially-they simply add molasses back into the sugar after processing.

Cake

• 1-1/4 c. flour


• 1/2 c. granulated sugar


• 1/2 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. salt


• 1/3 c. canola oil (or 6 T. Earth Balance Margarine, softened)


• 1/3 c. soymilk + 1 t. apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)


• 1 T. cornstarch mixed with 1/4 c. water


• 1-2 t. vanilla extract


• Powdered sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whisk the still-warm melted earth balance with the sugar, molasses, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the flour with a spoon, or your hands, until a thick dough forms, similar to the texture of cookie dough. Let sit to cool for about 10 minutes. It should be ready when after you've put together the batter for the cake.

Line an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil (two sheets in a cross formation, leaving excess draped over the edges to help you remove the cake later). Spray with vegetable oil. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add oil, soymilk mixture, cornstarch mixture and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth, but do not overmix.

Add the batter to the lined pan. Begin to break apart the crumb mixture into smaller, pea sized pieces. Cover the batter evenly with all the crumb mixture. It will seem like a lot! Use it all, as the cake will expand and the crumb mixture is tasty.

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350F, or until the crumbs are slightly browned and a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Use the toothpick to push over a crumb or two in the middle an make sure the top doesn't look gooey (I went the whole 50 minutes).

Grab the aluminum foil and gently lift the cake out to cool for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack. Give it a nice dusting of powdered sugar, slice and serve.

Serves 9.

(Recipe from VeganYum Yum)